A Different Point of View

Should athletes who use prosthetic legs be permitted to run the same races as everyone else? It all comes down to prosthetics providing an unfair advantage vs. discrimination against disabled athletes.

An international appeals court chose equal opportunity Friday, green-lighting double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius's bid to compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Was it the right decision?

Readers didn't agree when it came to wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden, and they certainly don't agree now.

One commenter, however, provides a much-needed fresh perspective:

greenemarine0311: I have a little bit of an insight in this subject better than most people out there. I competed in track and field into the college level, and then I joined the Marines and lost both my legs in an IED on my 3rd combat deployment to Iraq. So I've been around the track and field world along with the prosthetic world and am good friends with a few paralympic athletes.

The thing with the prosthetics is not about the carbon fiber foot itself. It doesn't return the type of energy that an able bodied foot can return, it just doesn't compare. The controversy with Oscar is that he makes his legs a lot longer than what his natural height would be. If his natural height is 5'9", he would be running at a height of 6'10". That is where he gets his speed. So when everyone else is taking 80 steps to run 100 meters, he's taking 60.

I have no trouble seeing him compete at his natural height, but the moment he goes over that is when he needs to be regulated.

Interesting, isn't it? The advantage may not be in the springiness of the legs but rather in the extra height. As someone who's 5-foot-1 (and I may or may not be padding that number), I know all too well that people (and animals) with longer legs move faster. It isn't fair to us shorter folks; at least, that's how I rationalized faking a stomachache every time we had to run the mile in seventh grade gym class.

Regardless, we'll never agree on whether or not athletes with prosthetic limbs should be running the same races as athletes without disabilities. Where else in sports does such an ethical dilemma exist (this is not a test)?

By Lindsay Applebaum |  May 17, 2008; 9:23 PM ET  | Category:  Olympics
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