Paralympics

[northernladuk]

That'll be v. interesting indeed.

It will be cock. The guy has an advantage/disadvantage so a pointless exercise. You can't take drugs or blood transfusion but you can lighten the fastest moving part of your body, add flexible carbon blades shaped scientifically to max traction/movement yadda yadda

There is no level playing field here at all.

[TimberWolf]

It will be cock. The guy has an advantage/disadvantage so a pointless exercise. You can't take drugs or blood transfusion but you can lighten the fastest moving part of your body, add flexible carbon blades shaped scientifically to max traction/movement yadda yadda

There is no level playing field here at all.

Depends if they allow whole bodied athletes to use them too.

[sasguru]

It will be cock. The guy has an advantage/disadvantage so a pointless exercise. You can't take drugs or blood transfusion but you can lighten the fastest moving part of your body, add flexible carbon blades shaped scientifically to max traction/movement yadda yadda

There is no level playing field here at all.

No it won't/he doesn't. If you look at his times and competition history, he's on the verge of competing with able bodied athletes - he's in the rough time zone but he's not the best.
That's what makes it interesting, he's on a par with able bodied athletes.

[Mich the Tester]

No it won't/he doesn't. If you look at his times and competition history, he's on the verge of competing with able bodied athletes - he's in the rough time zone but he's not the best.
That's what makes it interesting, he's on a par with able bodied athletes.

It's interesting, but on balance I think his 'blades' give him an advantage in the 400 or any event where acid build up due to anaerobic muscle contractions is going to affect the motor units. He doesn't lose elasticity in his lower leg muscles during the course of the race. In the 60 metres, 100 metres, shotput, long and high jump and 110 hurdles on the other hand, he'd be at a disadvantage due to lacking active strength in his lower legs.

[MyUserName]

So what would happen if he broke a record in the standard Olympics?
Would the record stand or would the fact he has mechanical parts cause an issue?

[northernladuk]

No it won't/he doesn't. If you look at his times and competition history, he's on the verge of competing with able bodied athletes - he's in the rough time zone but he's not the best.
That's what makes it interesting, he's on a par with able bodied athletes.

Thanks for stating the obvious without thinking about it at all. He is in line with times yes, but why. A guy with jet powered rollerskates on would as well but he isn't eligble. There is a technological issue here that must be considered to understand why he is in line with the times. That is the arguement, not the fact his times are on par.

[Doggy Styles]

Depends if they allow whole bodied athletes to use them too.

I agree with NLUK. Although I feel a bit guilty about this, you just can't set a level playing field between para-athletes and the rest. Their aids can give them an unfair advantage.

Next year someone could develop a new pair of blades that propel Pistorius round four seconds faster than he does now, easily enough for a gold medal in the worlds.

A more extreme example is wheelchair marathon athletes, who complete races up to 45 minutes quicker than the runners.

[northernladuk]

It's interesting, but on balance I think his 'blades' give him an advantage in the 400 or any event where acid build up due to anaerobic muscle contractions is going to affect the motor units. He doesn't lose elasticity in his lower leg muscles during the course of the race. In the 60 metres, 100 metres, shotput, long and high jump and 110 hurdles on the other hand, he'd be at a disadvantage due to lacking active strength in his lower legs.

Good point but the actual scientific study states he is disadvantaged in corners and the start and I would guess your comments are also right but it does state he has a clear advantage in a straight line. It is in the wikipedia article. Agreed with the strengh but but he isn't in for that.

[TimberWolf]

So what would happen if he broke a record in the standard Olympics?
Would the record stand or would the fact he has mechanical parts cause an issue?

I'd like to think we'd have the makings of an altogether new exciting dimension to the Olympics, with new race categories. Would the pole vault be more exciting without a pole? Is a springy carbon fibre pole more of an advantage than no pole, or any different to springy carbon fibre leg attachments?

It's never fair. Some people have bigger muscles, more hormones, longer legs, etc.

[northernladuk]

So what would happen if he broke a record in the standard Olympics?
Would the record stand or would the fact he has mechanical parts cause an issue?

If he was eligble to enter it would stand of course but there would be one hell of a tulip storm afterwards.... I genuinly think one of the reasons they allowed him is because he isn't expected to do well.

If he was vying for gold or world records the politics just wouldn't be worth their time and a ban would be easier.