I'm still not sure how I feel about this. I really want to say he should definitely be able to compete in the Olympics, but part of me says that his prostheses are an unfair advantage. Of course that troubles me to admit since I feel wrong in saying that someone who was born without fibulas has an advantage over the other runners.
Looking back, I felt that the decision on the Casey Martin matter in the PGA was appropriate, but I was torn on that as well.
Thoughts?
Posted by Mike at May 16, 2008 06:07 PMPart of all of us wants to be compassionate to handicapped people, the other part of us wants to know what happens if this guy wins because the guy ahead of him sprains an ankle.
It's not very lovey-dovey, but I think if you're competing in a world-class athletic event with limbs that cannot fatigue, then you're not playing on a level field. So, it's a bummer for that guy, but sometimes the breaks are the breaks. It's probably not fair for him to run in the Olympics. Carbon fiber legs: a performance enhancing substance?
Gold doesn't count, because that's just golf. It's not like that Casey guy has robot shoulders. Or that golfers' performance falls off at hole 18 from cardio fatigue from all the walking.
Posted by: McCreary at May 16, 2008 07:10 PMAlthough I feel like heel saying so, I believe that such prostheses have the potential to be a significant competitive advantage. There may not be a mechanical advantage, whatever physics were measured in regards to the prostheses. However, I think we can agree that it is unlikely that Pistorius will experience calf cramps. Furthermore, is it possible that he will have the additional advantage that his heart is not required to pump blood to those absent regions of his body. Clearly I am not a doctor, so I don't know the reality here. And come race time, how are you going to monitor the prostheses. Is it possible for them to be tweaked to increase the mechanical advantage, etc?
Posted by: John at May 19, 2008 11:47 AMI'll side with the athlete, although I agree with others that prosthetic limbs could have the potential to offer athletes a competitive advantage, and thus should be closely monitored in the future. First of all, our own biomechanics are pretty efficient at rebounding energy during each stride, so to get a prosthetic to be even as good, let alone better, is going to be quite a feat. Second, we all have different inherent abilities, anyway. I know we all like to talk about dedication and heart, but if you don't have the right genetics, or didn't get the proper nutrition during childhood, no amount of training later in life is going to make up for it. As long as a group of experts have determined that it doesn't offer an advantage, I don't see anything wrong with letting athletes compete with prosthetics. As prosthetics continue to improve, it will probably be necessary to start imposing restrictions on the technologies allowed (which I don't see as much different than the Major Leagues outlawing certain bat technologies).
Posted by: Fatboy at May 19, 2008 02:31 PMI have a question for the people who understand physics:
Is there any potential energy stored in the prosthetics? I've read a couple descriptions that compare the blades to springs.
And if they are like springs, I think the guy should just run wearing springs.
Yes, they are springs, just like our own tendons (here's another one, and a good article on endurance running and our evolution). If you're wondering why not use coil steel springs, I can think of a couple reasons. First, carbon's a whole lot lighter than steel, and reducing weight at the extremities of your legs is extremely important to be able to run fast. Second, using a simple, flexible bar is a whole lot simpler than some clap trap mechanism with coil springs and hinges, and a whole lot less likely to break.
Posted by: Fatboy at May 20, 2008 06:57 PMOh, and just to answer your question, yes, they do store potential energy and release it as kinetic energy with each stride, again, just like tendons.
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