Oscar Pistorius gets his A

After watching this saga for a while, I am all for him running at Worlds.

For him to have a goal set in front of him and achieve it is a great personal satisfaction to him.

I don't see it taking away from the sport, either.

I do agree that he is not quite doing the same event.

And I would put an * next to his performances.

Let him run.

Put an * next to his place or retroactively DQ the performance if it is truly deemed an advantage after further review. And I think he probably does have an advantage.

The sport has suffered through seeing Ben Johnson, Marion Jones and Rashid Ramzi crossing the Olympic finish line first and then having the performance wiped off once their unfair advantage was certified.

I don't see having Pistorius run on the grand stage as quite the same black eye to the sport.

I don't see a future surge in blade runners either.

this is the world championships/olympics...you dont let someone run and put an * by it or retroactively dq them, if they should be able to run, let them run, if there is a reason they shouldnt run, no go

every round OP qualifies for he is keeping a rightful competitor out of

if he's allowed to race, at the very least, his fake legs should weigh the same as natural legs.

these carbon fiber legs weigh so much less, and transfer energy so well, that it's not fair.

doubters listen: it is not a disadvantage to be running with these fake legs. any normal 47 sec 400m runner, who ended up losing his lower legs, would run much faster once fitted with carbon fiber legs and given training with the new set-up.

what's happening is not fair play.

Something's fishy. These are Ramzi, OTC like improvements.

Not only that, but the guy doesn't even look that fit. He doesn't look like the prototypical 400 runner (tall, slim, cut). He has no definition in his physique. He doesn't look like he's ever dieted or peaked in a weight training cycle because he's never had to.

I'm sure he works very hard, but not anywhere close to what the world's top 400 runners have to do to run consistent low-45 to 44.xx's with the occasional 43.xx over the course of a season. The guy has an advantage, whether he realizes it or not.

I'm surprised none of you guys noticed the difference in the 45.07 result today and the earlier performances which were slower.

Lane draw! All of the earlier meet directors screwed him over with Lane 1. Since he doesn't have ankles, this is a huge disadvantage.

Given a good lane draw in the first round of WC's, Pistorious has a chance to win, especially as weak as the event is this year. I see him running 44.5 from the outside lanes.

Is he using the same pair of legs he was a few years ago when he was significantly slower? Or does he get a technological upgrade every few years?

NotATroll wrote:

You guys are still missing the point. Of course he did great, of course it is commendable that he has such goals.

BUT YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT.

Segregation.

pdxrunr wrote:

Does anyone know what lane he raced in today? I have seen just about every race he has run this season, and all have been in lane 1 as he has been in huge meets where that is the only lane he could get. If he ran in lane 4 ,5 or 6 today, I could see him running that much faster.

L

pdxrunr and nightline OS had lane 3. and for the first time this season, in a bigger meet he was not in lane 1. you guys are spot on. Not a huge drop, just a guy getting to stretch out his limbs.

Thank you meet organizers for giving a guy a decent lane so he could go after a standard.

Reminds me of playing racing games. Upgrade, zoooom!

I am sure that Oscar would rather have his legs instead of having to run on prosthetics.

tracks wrote:

I am sure that Oscar would rather have his legs instead of having to run on prosthetics.

And Caster would probably rather have breasts than balls.

I'm wondering if the IAAF has a technical spec for what a spike is that has a certain amount of "flexibility" (pun intended).

Could someone make for, say, Wariner, a "running shoe" that fits like a spike but has one of those blades running underneath, giving him a "lever" the length of what Bolt has, and the blade? And, assuming that a normal human could actually run faster with such a thing, how could they prohibit such a thing but allow Pistorius?

I'm a 1:55 college runner, and I'd also prefer having breasts over being a sub 2 runner, but I might as well compete against women since I can't have what I want.

Stumpy joe would rather have more than one leg and arm than cruise around the track in a mini cooper. Think he can brake 18?

tracks wrote:

I am sure that Oscar would rather have his legs instead of having to run on prosthetics.

What O.P. would rather have has no bearing on the question of fairness. Those who doubt his advantage should read the excellent posts of Drs. Ross and Tucker from their blog / website "The Science of Sport."

I appreciate O.P.'s determination and courage, but he should NOT be allowed to compete against elite, able-bodied runners.

He won't win easily. Likely will not make the semis, let alone the finals. But he will draw interest to track and field. Saw him at Pre and he looked fit to me. But takes him a while to get going and lane 1 is clearly rough for him.

And, to be clear, we get the point but we disagree. I am thrilled he made the standard.

Ok, so some of you think it's fair for him to compete now, probably because he seems to be running reasonable times. What happens if a new model of his aerospace grade legs comes out that drops two seconds off of his time (maybe that's where this drop came from, who knows)? Don't you see that there is a very unnatural variable at play here, similar in end-function to doping?

Like others have said, Oscar was born without legs and therefore has no chance of being an elite athlete (without artificial aid). While in no way comparable in terms of quality of life, etc, it is comparable in terms of the sports world to anybody born without the genetic gifts required to be an elite athlete (Particularly so in track which certainly requires much natural talent in addition to the training). But people feel sorry for him, and not for Joe Blow high schooler who trains his ass off to peak at 55 second, even though he has the same chance of winning Olympic gold as Oscar without his blades.

NotATroll wrote:

You guys are still missing the point. Of course he did great, of course it is commendable that he has such goals.

BUT YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT.

I'm all for Oscar P, but maybe I have some extra interest in it. I ran in HS/college and then broke my back/injured my spinal cord and now I use a wheelchair to get around because I don't walk functionally.

I think it is funny when I listen to people of color telling a story about experienced racism and then saying things like, "This is 2011, we all go through the same door and use the same bathrooms now!"

It's funny because there are a lot of places that I go that I have to go through a separate door - or find the door in the back of the building - or find the service elevator - or hell, there are buildings that I straight up can't get into.

I'm not looking for sympathy. I lead a really good life, but people with disabilities are discriminated against in many ways, systematically/institutionally and personally by individuals.

I really think that all of the disadvantages OP has in his life more than offset any advantage he has gained from his blades. But I also don't think the blades really give him that much of an advantage, and yes, I've read the reports. Scientific reports also were used to show the inferiority of black people. Are you scared that a person with a disability might beat an able bodied person at something on a relatively level playing field?