Guy just went something like 10.57 100m, and 20.66 200m
The vids are on youtube, search his name and distance.
He finishes like nobody's business to win the 100, then just decimates everybody in the 200.
He's double-bladed, and his body looks only normal.
It's just a matter of time before one of these guys, at least in the 200 or 400, does significant damage to the open record.
Awesome stuff, his close in the 100 looked great.
100m:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6oyAnwofA
200m:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHpLTCcn6Y
I wonder if they had a radar gun on him in the 100, or if there are splits.
Ross Tucker (sportsscientists.com) tried to get split data from the 100 and 200 and the IPC denied his request.
"However, in the build up to the Lyon IPC World Championships, I tried to approach the IPC for permission to analyse Oliveira's 100m and 200m races. I wanted split times at 10m intervals, so that we could discover just how much time he lost at the start, when he hit top speed and how that top speed compared to Usain Bolt's (I suspect it is the same, or faster). However, the IPC were not as enthusiastic, and so the study concept was never approved."
One of these guys are gonna get blade runners banned, which is good before someone drops a 42.5 in the open 4, or severely injures an able bodied runner.
It would be a nightmare if one of these guys made the final of the 2 or 4 and did something ridiculous.
Looking at Oliveira, his prosthetic springs are definitely on the long end.
Looks like a little 5'9" guy on Bolt's legs, is this some kind of joke so Brazil can medal in the sprints? IOC, IAAF may need to step in before the premier Track events in the Olympics get ruined.
Watch a video, also his legs are 4" long at the very least, possibly as much as 7".
If his 'legs' were 4" less he would not be hitting 9.0 to close a 200 in.
This is a 5'7" to 5'9" guy on springs nearly the length of Bolt's legs, definitely Lemaitre's.
it's clear that there aren't any standards in place for the allowable blade lengths
this guy Oliveira's blades are way too long. check out this image
ok letsrun keeps blocking my link because it thinks its spam...just google alan oliveira and look at any picture of him standing up. look where his knees should be, and compare his lower legs with anyone else
thomasbox--
Thanks for that.
Too bad, splits would be incredibly interesting, as well as speed readings.
I think these blade runners are amazing, simply as human/technological hybrids.
I don't think that they should be able to run against able-bodied athletes, but not for the reason that most think: I think a sort of limited open-season should be declared on prostheses.
I know there are currently limits on the prostheses, and that a guy like Oliveira might be best-positioned to make use of them, versus a single-leg amputee, or an amputee with significant lower leg remaining...but I would absolutely love to see one of these guys tricked out, running 9.3, or going 18.00 in the 200...or a super-fast 400.
Why not? It's like cycling, a human driving mechanical parts. The races would be open to any athletes who wanted to strap on blades, including able-bodied athletes (who might be at a disadvantage due to intact structure that wouldn't contribute to the blade running motion).
I think it's super-cool. It's no different than strapping on skis, or skates.
Think about skates: there could easily be a speed skater who had a foot amputated, and you would never know it.
I say give them their own races, open the field to EVERYBODY, and lengthen the permissible blade length while keeping the design simple.
Might need to move the venue wrote:
Watch a video, also his legs are 4" long at the very least, possibly as much as 7".
If his 'legs' were 4" less he would not be hitting 9.0 to close a 200 in.
This is a 5'7" to 5'9" guy on springs nearly the length of Bolt's legs, definitely Lemaitre's.
What do the length of his legs have to do with anything?
A criticism of some paralympic sprinters, if I may be so bold:
They need to get in shape.
I have always, ALWAYS looked like I have been in better shape than most of the top paralympic sprinters.
Come on, do some training. Take a look at Pistorius and even Oliveira--smooth, even a bit soft.
Really? Why is this the case?
Could Oliveira break 20 if he was in better shape? How rigorous is his training regimen? Why does he not look like he is more fit?
I know some might think it harsh to beat on these people who are disabled, but screw that--they are athletes, plain and simple, and deserve the same treatment as other athletes get.
When Dix shows up tubby, or Gatlin, we roast their azzes.
Same for Pistorius and now Oliveira. I can't say that I really respect Oliveira's 20.66, because the time is just an abstraction--judging by his body, I see how much work he has put in, and I judge that he should easily be capable of substantially better than 20.66 if he were just in better shape. I felt the same way about Pistorius.
Like an earlier poster said, some day one of these disabled competitors will turn out to be a real athlete, and will absolutely blow the doors off the absolute records.
Pistorius opened the door and Oliveira stepped through it, but the real one is yet to come...
"What do the length of his legs have to do with anything?"
Because the benefit of added carbon fiber length far outweighs its cost, to a point much greater than is true with added biologic tissue length.