Amputee runner wins right to try for Olympic spot

Fri May 16, 2008 7:06 AM EDT

sports, olympics, beijing-olympics, ath, oscar-pistorius, pistorius, cas

LAUSANNE — Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius has won the right to compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 21-year-old South African is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes.

Friday's verdict overturns a ban imposed by the IAAF, which said his carbon fiber prosthetic blades give him a mechanical advantage.

CAS said the unanimous ruling goes into effect immediately.

Pistorius still must reach a qualifying time to run in the individual 400 meters at the Beijing Games. However, he can be picked for the South African relay squad without qualifying.

11 Votes
Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.

Published to:

Associated Press's Column, All of Newsvine
Groups: Handy Capable
Regions: Switzerland , South Africa , China , Geneva

What's this?

Who's leading the conversation?

This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.

3.8

{"commentId":1807449,"authorDomain":"killfile"}

Killfile

Sweet. I've been wanting to see this guy run for a few years now. He's supposed to be amazing.

{"commentId":1807449,"threadId":"265363","contentId":"1492380","authorDomain":"killfile"}

1 vote

#1 - Fri May 16, 2008 10:27 AM EDT

{"commentId":1807675,"authorDomain":"finalcut"}

finalcut

It should be interesting. Ever since I heard about this guy I have thought it was surreal to see a disabled person being considered to have the advantage.

I understand he does fly around the track on those things. It should be a cool event.

{"commentId":1807675,"threadId":"265363","contentId":"1492380","authorDomain":"finalcut"}

3 votes

#1.1 - Fri May 16, 2008 11:27 AM EDT

{"commentId":1807879,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}

Jack Huang

In all honesty, I'm still a bit worried about whether his prosthetics will give him a mechanical advantage.

Let's hope there's some sort of testing or validation process that went into this decision.

{"commentId":1807879,"threadId":"265363","contentId":"1492380","authorDomain":"sphinx"}

2 votes

#1.2 - Fri May 16, 2008 12:12 PM EDT

{"commentId":1808196,"authorDomain":"finalcut"}

finalcut

I wonder how they measure the advantage they give him? I assume it has to do with tension and the overall flexibility of the material - but how do they compare that against the natural leg muscles? Is it purely a measure of power? Is it a ratio : say if your upper leg can generate X power then your lower leg (if a real one) can't generate more than Y ft/lbs of power?

{"commentId":1808196,"threadId":"265363","contentId":"1492380","authorDomain":"finalcut"}

1 vote

#1.3 - Fri May 16, 2008 1:29 PM EDT

{"commentId":1808714,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}

Jack Huang

That is a good question.

I suspect they'd performed a mix of materials testing and visual gait tracking, to see if the prosthetics were disproportionately strong.

{"commentId":1808714,"threadId":"265363","contentId":"1492380","authorDomain":"sphinx"}

#1.4 - Fri May 16, 2008 3:14 PM EDT

{"commentId":1807666,"authorDomain":"yasmin"}

yasmin

Awesome! I'm so glad they ruled in favor of him. I hope he goes far.

{"commentId":1807666,"threadId":"265363","contentId":"1492380","authorDomain":"yasmin"}

2 votes

#2 - Fri May 16, 2008 11:25 AM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"265363","isPrivate":false}

Backyard

Amputee runner wins right to try for Olympic spot

Published to:

FUN STUFF:

COMPANY STUFF:

LEGAL STUFF:

	Amputee runner wins right to try for Olympic spot	Associated Press	Fri May 16	2
	South African runner, a double amputee, wins the right to pursue Beijing Olympics spot	G&M	Fri May 16	0