Pistorius is doing a lot to bringing viewers to Track/Field. For that he should not be treated like a damn cheater.
for all these viewers he's bringing in, it sure hasn't improved to quality of the coverage
As much as I think Pistorius has an unfair advantage, that reporter was kind of a d!ck...
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I put it up on the top of the front page.
I think Oscar is great for the sport and should be allowed to run Golden League events and what not as an exhibition but certainly not the worlds.
That being said, how could anyone call him an embarrassment?
I'd say he's more like an "inconvenient inspiration" for track and field.
Listen to the segment in the interview:
I am a fan of Oscar, but I think he needed to answer the question. The interviewer was not being insulting. In fact, I think he took extra care to pad the question with the proper remarks, even referring to him as an inspiration.
There are questions about his legitimacy due to mechanical benefits gleaned from his lower leg prosthetics. I think it would be better if he accepted this and worked to explain why he believes he is legitimate.
As a fan of Oscar, I think he is a genetic freak. The guy deserves to be World Class. I think we should study his legs and try to really determine if he has an advantage. It is very intriguing to me.
pistorius is a flabby muffin-top who couldn't hold my jock strap
rojo wrote:
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I put it up on the top of the front page.
I think Oscar is great for the sport and should be allowed to run Golden League events and what not as an exhibition but certainly not the worlds.
That being said, how could anyone call him an embarrassment?
I'd say he's more like an "inconvenient inspiration" for track and field.
You need to switch what's on the front page with the actual interview segment, which gives more context. That snippet didn't sound like an insult to me. Even if it were, why can't he answer it? When you interview, do you edit yourself to avoid hurting the feelings of the subject?
That said, how do you square saying he should run in DL events "as an exhibition" but not in real meets, like the World's? That smacks of Owens-versus-a-horse and that would be an insult.
I was struck by how unathletic Van Zyl appears. It looks like he hasn't done anything more athletic than shoot a round of pool.http://www.google.com/imgres?q=van+zyl+south+africa+hurdles&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=qRM&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=853&bih=409&tbm=isch&tbnid=Rko1IuWagQcW9M:&imgrefurl=http://townhall.com/photos/2011/05/26/van_zyl_of_south_africa_reacts_after_winning_mens_400_metres_hurdles_event_at_golden_gala_iaaf_diamond_league_at_the_olympic_stadium_in_rome&docid=V3RVhBA8cI1jQM&itg=1&w=230&h=400&ei=h2xmTtTMDKrSiALyu8W5Cg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=558&vpy=-1&dur=2889&hovh=296&hovw=170&tx=62&ty=318&page=3&tbnh=111&tbnw=62&start=19&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:19
ghost of geezer wrote:
pistorius is a flabby muffin-top who couldn't hold my jock strap
Joe Garland wrote:
[quote]rojo wrote:
That said, how do you square saying he should run in DL events "as an exhibition" but not in real meets, like the World's? That smacks of Owens-versus-a-horse and that would be an insult.
Agreed 100%
rojo wrote:
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I put it up on the top of the front page.
I think Oscar is great for the sport and should be allowed to run Golden League events and what not as an exhibition but certainly not the worlds.
That being said, how could anyone call him an embarrassment?
I'd say he's more like an "inconvenient inspiration" for track and field.
i just don't understand this point of view. he can run "as an exhibition" really, you really think that way???? he is not a sideshow freak. and if it is such an advantage, why don't we see people lining up to have their legs amputated to get this great benefit?
sirius wrote:
rojo wrote:Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I put it up on the top of the front page.
I think Oscar is great for the sport and should be allowed to run Golden League events and what not as an exhibition but certainly not the worlds.
That being said, how could anyone call him an embarrassment?
I'd say he's more like an "inconvenient inspiration" for track and field.
i just don't understand this point of view. he can run "as an exhibition" really, you really think that way???? he is not a sideshow freak. and if it is such an advantage, why don't we see people lining up to have their legs amputated to get this great benefit?
Do you really not know why people are not lining up to have their legs amputated? Really?
And yes it is very possible that it is an advantage and he should not be able to run in the World Championships. Technology has come way too far to not believe they couldn't design something to give an advantage. Obviously the runner also have to have some talent to go along with the "springs".
sirius wrote:
if it is such an advantage, why don't we see people lining up to have their legs amputated to get this great benefit?
If this were any site besides letsrun I'd assume you were posting this tongue in cheek.
http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/olympic-runners-feeling-stupid-for-cutting-off-leg,5984/Storming out of an interview can't have been easy for him.
sirius wrote:
rojo wrote:Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I put it up on the top of the front page.
I think Oscar is great for the sport and should be allowed to run Golden League events and what not as an exhibition but certainly not the worlds.
That being said, how could anyone call him an embarrassment?
I'd say he's more like an "inconvenient inspiration" for track and field.
i just don't understand this point of view. he can run "as an exhibition" really, you really think that way???? he is not a sideshow freak. and if it is such an advantage, why don't we see people lining up to have their legs amputated to get this great benefit?
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Becasue running and all sports are short term things. A hamstring pull and the struggle to master the right carbon blades becomes too much.
I'd like to see him do the Owens versus the horse thing, but with him as the horse.
Get him a snappier set of blades and let him run 39 seconds. Ot let him bounce through an 800 reccord as an an 8 foot tall grasshopper.
Soon as you understand that its the blades you start realize he shouldn't be racing in championship races.
Put him in the fully tweaked cheatahs instead of the detuned ones and he runs a world record. Is that acceptable?
Pistorius couldn't run 56 on human legs
I agree that the word "embarrassment" is not the right word in the context of the discussion, because even if it does emerge from all sides that this advantage exists, I still don't think anyone should be (or will be) embarrassed about the fact that he is running (apart, perhaps from the scientists and PR guys who have lied and hidden the research findings, but that's a separate debate).
That said, I didn't think the interviewer was being too unfair, because he did really pad the question. The media, other than the original audio clip have once again taken the question out of context and you have this "victim" scenario being played out. Until you hear the whole thing.
I can appreciate Rojo's position on the World Champs though. There's little doubt that there's a large advantage, that could become even larger in time, and so to me, emotion aside, it's cut and dried.
However, I can appreciate the argument that he should run EVEN WITH an advantage, because he's so inspirational and there aren't exactly 100 guys like him lining up to dominate the sport (which has a really simple explanation too). I don't necessarily agree with it, but I can see why people would argue that.
But let's not kid ourselves that there's no advantage. It's either "yes, despite the advantage", or "no, because of the advantage", but not "yes, there's no advantage".
As for being a genetic freak, his advantage is his skill at using the equipment. in the same way that Tiger woods was exceptional, that Wayne Gretzsky is exceptional, that's where I would say he's the outlier - making the most of the technology.
I would be willing to bet that he is not running on "detuned" blades. Right now they are as fast as anyone knows how to make them. On the other hand, he should not be allowed to run against people who do not benefit from the same technology improvements he does.
Two answers:If viewership goes up, they will assume it is in part because the coverage is just fine.You cannot expect instant improvement even so. Me, bad tho it was, better than reading about it in TFN a month later. By the time TFN comes to my mailbox, LR has me so well read I hardly read the magazine any more.
wi|fredo wrote:
for all these viewers he's bringing in, it sure hasn't improved to quality of the coverage
Rojo and LR: Huge fan I am of yours, but every single time his name comes up we have to know that you don't think he should run. That is perhaps the most inconvenient aspect of all, so far, in his involvement at high levels of athletics. Maybe just put your view on OP permanently somewhere in a box or blinking announcement somewhere prominent on the website and not in every mention of OP.That said, this may play out like the super swimsuits in swimming. Until he shows some advantage, just let it play out as it is. He is huge for track, and doing something wonderful. He does not have wheels (who ever thought a wheelchair could do a marathon that much faster than a runner??), and is not beating everyone despite years of effort. If the artificial legs begin to show some large or meaningful but small advantage, surely rules will change as they did with swimsuits. Much like changes in javelins, pole vault poles, rules against volzing in the pole vault, there is leeway to change but it need not happen before some advantage plays itself out. Until then, the benefits not for track and field, but for disabled kids and adults worldwide in seeing OP on the grand stage are worth us giving this some time to be legal. My view, but I won't post it on every single article or MB thread about OP, I promise! :-)
rojo wrote:
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I put it up on the top of the front page.
I think Oscar is great for the sport and should be allowed to run Golden League events and what not as an exhibition but certainly not the worlds.
That being said, how could anyone call him an embarrassment?
I'd say he's more like an "inconvenient inspiration" for track and field.