Oscar Pistorius the so-called “Blade Runner” was surging to a third straight 200-metre gold Sunday night when he was overtaken close to the finish by Alan Oliveira, who is also a double amputee. Pistorius then criticized Oliveira within minutes of the upset, claiming the Brazilian used longer carbon fiber prosthesis than should be allowed.
He has since apologized for the outburst. But the idea of his rant is annoying and to some extent hypocritical.
He runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. In 2007, Pistorius took part in his first international competitions for able-bodied athletes. However, his artificial lower legs, while enabling him to compete, have generated claims that he has an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) amended its competition rules to ban 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".
So using his blades to beat able-bodied runners is just fine but someone using better blades to beat him is cheating. An interesting perspective.
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