Comments on: A Welcomed Challenge for Oscar Pistorius

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 02:17:23 +0000

Thanks for the update, Jeff. And for the perspective.

By: jeff

jeff — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 01:03:31 +0000

It is a tribute to the human spirit to see all that he has done.The question as to whether he should be able to compete against able bodied runners is now moot,at least for now.He finished last in his qualifying run.Able bodied or not,when you finish last you don’t qualify.The further disqualification for running out of his lane is also a disqualification for every runner,able bodied or not.I know that he is very upset but it is not any action or lack of action by any organization that has eliminated him,it was his own poor showing.He has had to work infinitly harder than any other runner so his disappointment is that much greater,but he should take his loss as all other athletes do and learn from it.Instead of pointing fingers at anyone for what may or may not have been said,he should show the equally important trait of taking his loss with the dignity that other world class athletes are expected to do.Sour grapes and poor sportsmanship does nothing to cahnge the outcome and may hinder his hopes of getting more chances to compete at this level.

I would say to him:Hold your head up,take your loss like a man,learn from it and try to improve yourself.Nobody is going to hand you anything so you are going to have to do it the hard way,just as every other athlete that has suffered a setback in their career,work harder to make yourself better and to be ready for the next opportunity.Don’t give up on yourself but don’t blame others for your own performance.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:33:31 +0000

i think this guy is amazing. and if any other runners want to chop off their legs, try his prosthetics, and then race–and win–i say, go for it!

By: Christopher Kelsall

Christopher Kelsall — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:20:34 +0000

Whether Pistorius races well in able bodied events or not, this very subject should explode outward and become a hotly contentious issue amongst three parties, able bodied athletes, non able bodied athletes and governing bodies of sport; the latter whom undoubtedly can throw many pepples into the preverbial lubricant, at the drop of a Pamela Anderson calendar.

I can see, should he beat top level runners in the 400m WITH his prosthetic on, there will be enhanced finger wagging about performance enhancing, ah….enhancements.

How does an impartial and independent arbitrator-like-body assume the role and make a recomendation that his prosthetic does or does not provide a time benefit over and above regular bodied runners?

Probably leg turnover vs stride length vs gross time total.

If he wins, I hope some of the 400m runners don’t have to cut their leg off to compete. Then WADA will have to change it’s acronym from WADA ‘World Anti Doping Agency’ to WADAPEA ‘World Anti Doping AND Prosthetic Enhancement Agency’.

Wadapea sounds a little like onomatopoeia, which here means words used that are describing sounds like ‘clack…clack…clack’ of the prosthetic foot, striking pavement.

Or phlisk…phlisk…phlisk the sounds of legaleze being shuffled, forever, which suspiciously sound like the shuffling of feet.

By: Blaine Moore (Run to Win)

Blaine Moore (Run to Win) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:48:06 +0000

I wrote about the IAAF allowing him to compete last month at Run to Win, and there has been a lot of great discussion about whether he should be allowed to or not.