Just Simply Holly

You know, I get so tired of hearing people say things like “That’s not fair” or “Why does he/she get to do that if I can’t”. But something I seen on the news and then found online just now just tops the cake, in my opinion!

I was sitting here watching The Today Show and Matt was interviewing a young man, named Oscar Pistorius, from Africa who is a double amputee. You can read his entire Wikipedia page HERE, but I’ll give you a brief synopsis into this young mans life.

Oscar was born without fibula’s in both of his legs. At the age 11 both of his legs were amputated between the knee and ankle. He has spent his entire life overcoming obstacle after obstacle. He played several sports in high school, including rugby, water polo and tennis, but after a serious knee injury while playing rugby he was introduced to running and, to quote, “has never looked back”.

Oscar has participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens where he won the Mens 200 meter T44 with a time of 21.97 seconds and setting a world record. His motto is “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have”, which just shows how determined this young man is to not let his disability hold him back from his life’s goal, which is to participate in the Olymipcs. But this is where the title to this post comes in.

In January of this year (2008) the International Association of Althetics Federations (IAAF) ruled that Oscar is ineligible for competitions because his prosthetic legs that he uses for running give him an unfair advantage over runners with real legs. They based this decision on an amendment they added to their competition rules in 2007 after Oscar took part in his first able bodied competition. The amendment bans the use of “any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device”, and claims that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Oscar.

However, just a few days ago, on May 16, 2008, The Court of Arbitration for Sport reversed that decision, stating ” that the IAAF had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that Pistorius’s prostheses give him an advantage over able-bodied athletes”, thus clearing the way for Oscar to at least try and qualify for the South African Olympic Team. But with the time frame, it’s going to be a heck of a challenge and Oscar is saying that the 2012 Olympics in London are probably more realistic at this point.

But my question is this, and no, I do not truly understand the sport of running. How do the artificial legs that Oscar uses for running give him an advantage over able bodied runners with two natural legs? If you look at his times for events in the Paralympics that he has won medals for and compart them with times for the same events in the Olympics for the medal winners, his times are measurably slower. If they were way faster, then I could see where people might say he has an advantage. I do also understand that this is an area that has yet to be dealt with as far as the Olympics go. But it just feels like a blatant form of discrimination to me, especially when you take into account that the IAAF amended the rule shortly after Oscar’s first able bodied competition!

If you would like to read more about Oscar, here is a link to the Google Search I did. He is an AMAZING young man and when his life’s dream comes true, you can bet that I will have my TV tuned in and rooting him on! GOOD LUCK OSCAR!!!!