Last spring the same athlete did this, and it was the biggest joke at the Md state meet. She has teamate who she basically paced the entire race, and they both got dq'ed. It cost their team the state title. It should also be noted that the state of Md has races at the state meet for wheelchair athletes, but that isn't good enough for this girl.
WABOS.
It's like allowing bicycles race on the track at the same time as running races. It's not the same race and it's not safe for anyone involved. Another example of PC run amok.
Old news...
Ya, gotta agree. Im all for equality, you know "handi-capable", but wheelchairs are just plain faster... like sub 90min marathons faster.
but how many of you would amputate your legs if you where a wheelchair athlete? That my friends, is dedication.
just carry a broomstick with you at the starting line and when she takes off, sprint all out to catch up with her and jam the broomstick into the spokes, the chair will flip and she will spill out onto the track at which point she is helpless without her chair so the race can proceed.
i do not recall the marathon, but there was one about 2-3 years ago that had the runners compete against the people in wheel chairs. it was an absolute joke. there was a thread about this as well.
here is the thread:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=437187&thread=436094
You know, people used to complain about foreigners in the NCAA, and Bernard Lagat becoming American, but everyone realized that it's a benefit because it forces everyone else to improve their own running to compete. 10-20 years from now, when people are running sub 90 for the marathon thanks to the increased competition, they'll look back on all of you and see you for the short-sighted bigots you are.
that girl needs to do what is right and race with others in wheelchairs... this is not an issue of equality, but an issue of safety. having a girl in a wheelchair racing against those not in wheelchairs is dangerous and stupid. if she were actually trying, she would dominate every single race... if she wins does she recieve the first place medal or not? if not then what the hell is she doing there?
Competing in a running race in a wheelchair is exactly the same as competing in a swimming race in a pedalboat. It's absolutely ridiculous that anyone would think that is a legitimate competition
If I remember correctly, she does not compete against the other runners, i.e. she gets scored separately.
Her lawsuit last year was that she wants to compete at the same time with the other runners. Before, they used to have her race around the track all by herself. And yes, this girls is world elite level.
observer55555 wrote:
If I remember correctly, she does not compete against the other runners, i.e. she gets scored separately.
Her lawsuit last year was that she wants to compete at the same time with the other runners. Before, they used to have her race around the track all by herself. And yes, this girls is world elite level.
here is an article on the subject. it appears there is some confusion about how she is scored and that she has scored as against runners.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/track/2006-04-19-wheelchair-racer_x.htm?csp=34Would anyone else find a wheelchair on track at the same time as you to be almost an obstacle if you had to pass? What if the person was slow or new to the sport. I'd think itd be harder to go around them if you actually could pass the chair athlete Vs. a normal runner. Also, what if they accelerate too hard and their front wheel hits you in the back of the leg...uhhh, this sounds kinda dangerous. If theres a meet for wheelchairs only she should be in there instead.
SCORING SYSTEM UNSETTLED
Howard County athletics officials Wednesday scrambled to decide how Tatyana McFadden's race times would be counted because over middle and long distances, McFadden builds up speed and can propel her wheelchair much faster than girls her age can run.
When the county school system's athletics coordinator, Mike Williams, initially decided that her times would count as if she were just another runner, McFadden was schocked. She sought only to race alongside her peers, not to be counted as finishing first in races her competitors would otherwise win, said her mother, Deborah McFadden.
"She never started this to hurt her team or her team members," Deborah McFadden said. "She said this morning, 'Mom, the school system's not playing fair.'"
After a conference call Wednesday afternoon, the school system abandoned the plan to count Tatyana's scores as if she were a runner, Deborah McFadden said.
"She will run today with everybody, but she will take no slots away and take no points away," Deborah McFadden said. She said school officials apparently misunderstood the judge's ruling.
"This is the same thing that was ruled in court," McFadden said. "Nothing changed in the conference call."
Williams was not immediately available to confirm the change in the scoring policy. His secretary said he was on his way to the track meet.
"We were told by the judge a wheelchair is not an aid, and we can't keep her separate from everybody else, so she's eligible to score points," Williams told the Washington Post for a story in Wednesday's editions. “If she wins four events, then her team gets 40 points."
Scot Hollonbeck, the track chairman for Wheelchair Track & Field USA, part of a national governing body for wheelchair sports, said it would be unprecedented for McFadden's times to be counted as if she were a runner. He said some states, including Oregon and Minnesota, allow wheelchair athletes to compete in the same heats as runners, but their scores are counted separately.
"This would be a first, for the state of Maryland to consider a wheelchair a runner, which is essentially what they're doing," Hollonbeck said.
I have been an advocate for kids with special needs all my life and this decision is wrong on so many levels. First and foremost its just plain silly because you are comparing two different athletic activities.
But what bothers me even more as an advocate for special needs kids is that this type of silly ruling can demean all the other efforts we have to include special needs kids. There are many activities our kids can do with accommodations and supports. I hope this kind of negative PR doesn't create a backlash.
Your point is very valid, but the analogy is not good. Pedalboats are very inefficient and could never keep up with a good swimmer for any distance. A better analogy would be a kayak, which has a huge advantage as compared to a swimmer, like a wheelchair does compared to foot-travel.
Sean Nunn
Raytown South High School
in my state the wheel chair racers can race at the same time...but they must stay out in lane 3 or 4 I think. This seems okay, as long as its not that big of a race.