Oscar Pistorius

[jules1976]

My two cents worth....

 

Wasn't allowed to take part in Beijing as it was deemed that his carbon fibre limps gave him an unfair advantage over the able bodied athletes.

 

Various tests conducted prove that the limbs didnt give him an unfair advantage.

 

if he qualifies by beating the Olympic times then why not allow him to race !

 

As an athlete you dream to partake in the Olympic games and Oscar Pistorious has lived that dream.

 

He has overcome his disabilities and only wants to be seen as an athlete nothing more.

 

Oscar Pistorius take a bow you have earned your place at the Olympics and the World has acknowledged your existence as an athlete !!

[Azonic]

I hear the scientific explanations - and they're probably right. But I think the 'kumbaya' you talk about is awesome in itself, regardless of the science. Oscar's an amazing inspiration to able-bodied, para-athletes and non-athletes all over the world.

 

Forget the science - celebrate the triumph of human spirit

 

I somewhat agree. However, the guys that train for YEARS to reach this level don't really care about the human spirit factor. They care about winning a medal against other's - on a level playing field.

[Let's Ride]

Surely having the blades instead of real legs equals less muscles as you normally have muscles in your legs, which help you run???

[Skott5]

I hear the scientific explanations - and they're probably right. But I think the 'kumbaya' you talk about is awesome in itself, regardless of the science. Oscar's an amazing inspiration to able-bodied, para-athletes and non-athletes all over the world.

 

Forget the science - celebrate the triumph of human spirit

 

Hundred percent, and I think Oscar is a remarkable individual. But dont turn the olympics into a dog and pony show.

Then again I suppose the story wouldn't have carried as much punch if he wasnt fighting for a place to compete with the best of the best..

I wonder who owns the movie rights ..

[fabes]

Do you want a marsmallow with that cup of kumbaya?

A marshmallow with my cup of Kumbaya??? Really why don't you tell everyone on the forum how much money you given to the church this month as you have done in the past. I asked why do you care and i get this response from you. Seems you bored at work

[DJR]

The Olympics (as an organization) may well find it easier without complicating factors like Oscar Pistorius.......

 

But the world will be better off because of what he did at the olympics. People he inspired will do other great things that may have nothing to do with the olympics or sport.

 

To hijack a little bit: I would rather have a guy with prosthetic legs (openly visible, advantage or not) run, than one who has been caught drugging (sneaky underhanded cheating), even if he served his ban and came back clean.

[JA-Q001]

Okei, now bring him to cycling, where he still has all those advantages, would you respect him or judge him if he beats you. You cannot say he has less chances for injury, he was out of competition for a month with pressure sores from his prostetic legs. He normally competes in the shorter distances, I personally would like to see him take part in something like the 1500m, because every bit he "may" score with the prostetics, he loses in the start. The 400m is a race done in a few seconds, with first and last sepperated by only 5 seconds taht is about the amount he loses at the start and then has to play catchup the whole race. He is an insperation and I think that he stays with the short distances, because thats where his legs gives him the smallest advantage.

[Azonic]

Various tests conducted prove that the limbs didnt give him an unfair advantage.

 

http://www.citizen.co.za/citizen/content/en/citizen/local-news?oid=302035&sn=Detail&pid=146826&Oscar%E2%80%99s-blades-%E2%80%98an-advantage%E2%80%99

 

This was 2 days ago, so this is an up to date as you can get.

 

"But only a few months after the IAAF ban, the Council for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) overturned the ban after a team of scientists submitted studies to the CAS showing Pistorius had no unfair advantage."

 

That's pretty much what you said.

 

After that...

 

"Earlier this month Scientific American published an investigation on whether Pistorius has an advantage – saying that members of the scientific team that presented the case for Pistorius to the CAS had started to change tune."

 

But read the article for yourself.

[Escapee..]

The IAAF ruled that his artificial limbs were actually giving him an unfair advantage — that their springiness allowed him to push off the ground more efficiently than does a normal human ankle, letting him coast along at higher speeds using less exertion than other sprinters. He was banned from able-bodied competition...Herr, an inventor of advanced prosthetic limbs, says his tests show Cheetah Flex-Feet put Oscar on an equal footing with his competitors. "We did energetic tests to see how much oxygen Oscar was consuming. We looked at his rate of fatigue; we looked at biomechanics — how much force he applies, his step length and his stride frequency," Herr, who is also a double below-the-knee amputee, told Life's Little Mysteries before the World Championships last year. In all categories, Pistorius' performance followed the same trends as other top athletes.

 

"People argued that Oscar had an unnatural rate of fatigue" — that his artificial legs gave him extra stamina, Herr said. Tests show this isn't the case. "To measure the rate of fatigue, you take a treadmill and turn it on at a particular speed. He jumps on and starts running, and you time how long he can maintain that speed. You do this at several speeds, then plot normalized speed versus duration, and you get a curve. Many sprinting athletes follow a similar curve. We found that Oscar follows the same trend." That means he got just as tired using his blades as everyone else did using their calves and ankles.

 

In their experiments, Herr and his colleagues found that Pistorius moves his body slightly differently than other athletes, but consumes energy and oxygen at the same rate. He swings his lightweight carbon blades back and forth a tad faster than most of his competitors swing their heavier legs, but he must also push off the ground harder to get the same thrust; overall, these factors appear to balance out.

 

Lastly, Herr argues that if Pistorius' prosthetics work better than biological limbs, they'd be giving a boost to other amputees, too. But Paralympic athletes have used the same technology for the past 15 years, and no one has achieved Pistorius's running times. "It's clearly because of Oscar, not the legs," Herr said.

[Azonic]

A marshmallow with my cup of Kumbaya??? Really why don't you tell everyone on the forum how much money you given to the church this month as you have done in the past. I asked why do you care and i get this response from you. Seems you bored at work

 

Wow, I find it awesome that you pay so much attention to my posts! A fan, you love me, you really love me!

 

Oh, and this month the church got about R200 from me, I've got a 29er to build for Trans Baviaans

[LOOK695]

The only real test would be if he had legs to start with to have a comparison with his blades

[Shebeen]

Wasn't allowed to take part in Beijing as it was deemed that his carbon fibre limps gave him an unfair advantage over the able bodied athletes.

He was actually cleared before Beijing, but didn't qualify. Those same scientists that were in his pocket have since changed their tune.

 

He actually also didn't qualify under the SASCOC criteria for london either as he didn't hit the A- standard twice. They bent the rules for him, and him only - because he's a pr machine.

[Brian Fantana]

Who are you talking to, me, or the general scientific community out there that mostly sing the same tune?

 

Talking to all the naysayers. His artificial limbs were tested, and the Olympic comittee gave him the go ahead to compete if he qualifies. He did just that.

[Azonic]

Oscar’s blades ‘an advantage’

 

 

As Oscar Pistorius makes Olympics history, respected South African sports scientist Ross Tucker said that the amputee’s prosthetic limbs give him an unfair advantage.

05 August 2012 | PAUL KIRK

 

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Current rating: 3 from 2 votes.

 

JOHANNESBURG - Tucker said that a mixture of bad science and “dishonest claims” had blinded people to the fact that the runner’s blades give him an advantage against able-bodied athletes.

 

Posting on his Science of Sport blog on Saturday, Tucker said: “Oscar Pistorius has just made his debut in the Olympic Games, finishing second in his heat, with a season’s best of 45.44s. It puts him into the semi-finals in joint 16th place, and ensures that the hype continues for at least another day.”

 

The post contains links to several earlier articles that take an in-depth look at the research done into Pistorius’s “blades”.

 

In 2008 Pistorius was banned from competing against able-bodied athletes by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).

 

The IAAF ruled that, because Pistorius had artificial lower limbs that were 20% lighter than human limbs, he was able to swing his legs faster than able-bodied athletes.

 

But only a few months after the IAAF ban, the Council for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) overturned the ban after a team of scientists submitted studies to the CAS showing Pistorius had no unfair advantage.

 

Referring to the research he links to in his blog, Tucker writes: “I wish the media would produce more of the same quality investigation as this, instead of allowing itself to become the platform for the aggressive PR and dishonest claims made in the other direction.

 

“Much of what you’ve read is an outright lie, much of it is clever obfuscation designed to make the science seem much more equivocal than it really is”.

 

Tucker says that the IAAF initially found that Pistorius used 25% less oxygen in a sprint than an able bodied athlete – due to his lightweight carbon fiber limbs.

 

Tucker wrote that while he believed there were procedural flaws in the IAAF hearing into Pistorius, he also believed that bad science and “dishonest claims” were used in the Pistorius appeal to the CAS – which was led by Dr Hugh Herr, a US scientist and amputee who helped develop the Cheetah artificial limbs that Pistorius uses.

 

“The comparison of Pistorius, a 400m sprinter, to elite and sub-elite long distance runners in the research by Herr et al is one of the best examples of this.

 

“They did have data on sprinters – it made Pistorius look physiologically and metabolically different, and would thus have confirmed the IAAF finding to have him banned.

 

“And so they presented instead a comparison between Pistorius and distance runners. Those scientists who went to the CAS on behalf of Pistorius also failed to disclose the finding of a mechanical advantage so large that the world’s leading authority on sprinting concluded that it would provide a 12 second benefit.”

 

Since being able to compete against able-bodied athletes, Pistorius has become the golden boy of South African athletics, raking in sponsorships and endorsements, and adoration from fans.

 

Earlier this month Scientific American published an investigation on whether Pistorius has an advantage – saying that members of the scientific team that presented the case for Pistorius to the CAS had started to change tune.

The magazine wrote that one of the scientists in the team, Peter Weyland, “believes that Pistorius’s prosthetics allow him to move in a way that no non-prosthetics wearer could, giving him an advantage.

 

The American magazine interviewed Weyland, asking him if he believed the alleged advantage that Pistorius has with his blades should disqualify him.

“Weyland will not say outright whether or not Pistorius should be allowed to run in the Olympics. Perhaps, he says, the sprinter represents something more important than the dispute over his light, springy legs,” the article says.

Attempts to obtain an after-hours contact number for Tucker failed.

At the time of going to print Herr had not responded to an e-mailed request for his contact details.

[RockCoach]

I can see both sides here.

 

For now, I am very happy that Oscar got to live his dream and his legs are just an advanced prosthesis. He really is an inspirational guy.

 

But what happens when biomedical engineering becomes much more advanced and we have athletes with robot legs? Disabled Olympics will have faster times than able bodied.... Or will we have a third category for robotics?

[Azonic]

Talking to all the naysayers. His artificial limbs were tested, and the Olympic comittee gave him the go ahead to compete if he qualifies. He did just that.

 

Read The Dictator's post just above yours.