The Fastest Man on No Legs
Oscar Pistorius is fast. He's run 46.25 for 400 meters, 21.58 for 200 meters, and 10.91 for 100 meters. And he's done it all with no lower legs.
Using his "Cheetah Flex-Foot" blades, Oscar has run 26 world record performances, and now he has started an amazing debate within the athletics community by petitioning to be able to compete at the Olympic games, against able-bodied competitors.
Oscar wasn't able to run, but he did initiate quite a debate. This lens has everything you need to know to join it. So after reading, tell us which side are you on?!
Breaking News!
Oscar is running in the Paralympics in Beijing! He took first in his T44 100m final in 11.17 seconds!
On 9/13, Oscar won his second gold, taking the T44 200m final in 21.67 seconds!
On 9/16, Oscar won his third gold, running 47.49 to win the T44 400m!
Quick Poll: Should Oscar Pistorius be eligible to compete in the Olympic Games?
So you've answered the poll. Now howzabout 'splainin' yerself?
Should Oscar be eligible to run in the Olympic Games?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byHe should be eligible because:
andrew says:
Im proudly south african and Oscar is a role model in our decieved society thats enough for him to run.
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear"
Nelson Mandela
its just what scar has challenged
Posted September 16, 2008
Caroline says:
I think he is a terriffic athlete and has really trained to the best he can possibly train for such an event.
Posted September 12, 2008
Kyle w says:
Yes he should beause if he isn't it would be discrimination against disabled or partially disabled people.
Posted September 01, 2008
Lori says:
yes
Posted July 17, 2008
Jonnie Kahn says:
Oscer should be allowed to race. He's runnig in times that qualify.
Posted July 16, 2008
kkzz says:
if u wer him wat wud u feel
Posted July 12, 2008
raymanrock says:
u people that think Oscar shouldnt race then ur dumb
Posted June 26, 2008
He should NOT be eligible because:
alliecatt says:
No. I know he is amazing, but he does have legs that give him a huge advantage...it's kind of like taking steroids, but it isn't his fault.
Posted September 23, 2008
dahjg says:
no cos the blades give him an advantage
Posted June 26, 2008
Josh C says:
It's doesn't matter to me if there is no advantage to the runner while running, he is using an engineered machine, in the purest sense of the word. He does not run in a similar manner to those he competes with, he has less joints and the mechanics of his movements are necessarily different. He will never turn an ankle on the corner as the engineering obviously wont allow that. The field can never be level when we allow prosthetics in non-prosthetic races. If Oscar wishes to run in the Olympics, he should be lobbying for the inclusion of the prosthetic races with the main Olympics, instead of the separate Paralympics.
Posted May 21, 2008
samej says:
There is to much uncertainty about whether his 'blades' give him an advantage. I don't think this could ever be resolved to the satisfaction of everyone and any achievements would be tarnished by this uncertainty.
Posted May 21, 2008
Cinetech says:
Even though, it's exciting to see him running with no legs, it's proven that he has an advantage. He's body is no longer a normal human body, it wouldn't be fair to the other athletes.
Posted May 21, 2008
buraian says:
You can read my full argument against his participation at the link below, but I think there are too many unknowns to make him eligible right now. Plus, when the evidence he supplies in favor of his position is conducted behind closed doors and not released to the public, well, call me skeptical...
Posted May 17, 2008
Music Video: Negramaro - Via Le Mani Dagli Occhi
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Lens Navigator: It's all just a click away!
- Did you know? Five fun facts about Oscar Pistorius!
- Oscar's childhood
- South Africa's "Blade Runner" - July 2007 (Video)
- Oscar's sprinting career
- Oscar runs in the 400m at the Roma Golden League (Video)
- QuickPoll: Do you think Oscar will run the qualifying time for the Olympics?
- ABC News profiles Oscar Pistorius - May 2008 (Video)
- Oscar's Homepage
- The Controversy over Oscar's Olympic eligibility
- E:60 Blade Runner, Part 1 (Video)
- E:60 Blade Runner, Part 2 (Video)
- Media Coverage of the Oscar Pistorius Controversy
- Quick Poll: Is the news coverage of Oscar biased?
- Oscar's best performances
- Interviews with Oscar Pistorius
- My personal take on Oscar Pistorius and his competing in the Olympic Games
- News and Views about Oscar from the Blogosphere!
- Got an opinion about Oscar Pistorius?
- Other great lenses by buraian
- Optimal Training
Did you know? Five fun facts about Oscar Pistorius!
How many of these did you already know?
- Oscar was born without fibula in either leg. So his legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old!
- As a schoolboy, Oscar played rugby, water polo and tennis!
- Oscar was conferred the Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze in 2006 by the President of South Africa for outstanding achievement in sports!
- Oscar was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2008.
- Oscar is an Ambassador for The Sole of Africa, an organization dedicated to removing land mines around the world!
Oscar's childhood
You can't say that you can't do something. If you want to do something and you put your mind to it, then you'll get it done. --Oscar PistoriusOscar Leonard Carl Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila Pistorius on 22 November 1986 in Sandton, Gauteng Province, South Africa. He was born with congenital absence of the fibula in both legs. Pistorius was only 11 months old when his parents made the wrenching decision to have his limbs amputated below the knee. Making the decision to amputate at such a young age may have assisted Oscar to develop his abilities, as Oscar says he never really knew anything different.
As a child he announced to his father that one day he would play in the Super 8 rugby event, and this would characterize his future approach to life. He attended the Pretoria Boys' High School where, between the ages of 11 and 13, he played rugby union in the school's third XV team, water polo and tennis. He also played water polo and tennis at the state level. In addition, Pistorius took part in club Olympic wrestling.
After a serious rugby knee injury, he was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing rehabilitation, and "never looked back".
Sources: Ossur, Wikipedia
South Africa's "Blade Runner" - July 2007 (Video)
Who needs legs?
Oscar's sprinting career
"You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have." --Oscar PistoriusKnown today as the "Blade Runner" and "The fastest man on no legs", Oscar has gone on to rewrite the record books for Paralympic sprinters.
In January 2004, Pistorius switched to track after shattering his right knee on the rugby field. Just 17 years old, he ran the 100m in an open competition at the Pilditch stadium in his hometown of Pretoria after training for only two months. He ran it in 11.51 seconds; the world record was 12.2.
A mere eight months later, Pistorius raced alongside single-amputee sprinters Marlon Shirley and Brian Frasure at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. Creating a sensation in the athletics world, he took the silver medal behind Shirley in the 100m. He also won gold in the 200m, breaking the world record with a time of 21.97 seconds. This made him the first amputee ever to run the 200m in under 22 seconds. He went home with four world records.
At the South African Championships in March 2005, Pistorius ran the 400m in the Open/Able-Bodied category and placed 6th in the final competition. That same year, he also won the gold in both the 100m and 200m while representing South Africa in the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, England.
At the 2006 Paralympic Athletics World Championships, Pistorius won gold in the 100, 200 and 400-meter events, breaking the world record over 200 meters. On 17 March 2007, he set a disability sports world record for the 400 meters (46.56 seconds) at the South African Senior Athletics Championships in Durban. At the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled held in Johannesburg in April 2007, he became the world record holder of the 100 and 200-meter events with times of 10.91 and 21.58 seconds respectively.
The IAAF subsequently invited him to run in a Grand Prix meeting in Helsinki, making him the first disabled athlete ever invited to such an event; he did not attend, however, due to school commitments. On 13 July 2007, Pistorius ran in his first IAAF-sanctioned 400-meter race at Rome's Golden Gala and finished second in run B with a time of 46.90 seconds. This was a warm-up for his appearance at the 400 meters at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on 15 July 2007. Pistorius took seventh place in a field of eight in wet conditions with a time of 47.65 seconds (Jeremy Wariner stumbled out of the blocks and did not finish). However, he was later disqualified for running outside his lane.
Pistorius has now broken his own world records 26 times. He is currently training to take off the 1.01 seconds necessary off his 400m time to qualify as an individual for the Beijing Olympic Games. He has been given six extra days, until July 17, to run the Olympic "A" standard. In his first race against able-bodied competition, he ran 47.78 in the 400m. He then ran 46.62 to finish 7th in the B race at the Golden Gala meet in Rome on July 11th. In his last race before the Paralympics, Oscar ran a PR of 46.25 for 400m in Switzerland on July 21st.
At the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, Oscar started off well, winning his T44 100m prelim in 11.16. He then beat American Jerome Singleton of the US in a tight final, 11.17 to 11.20 to take the gold at 100m. He then took the 200m final in 21.67 seconds. He finished off the meet by winning the 400m final in 47.49 seconds, completing the sprint sweep.
Sources: Ossur, Wikipedia
Oscar runs in the 400m at the Roma Golden League (Video)
QuickPoll: Do you think Oscar will run the qualifying time for the Olympics?
Paralympics books and products
ABC News profiles Oscar Pistorius - May 2008 (Video)
Here's my favorite link:
Oscar's biggest disadvantage: the blocks?
The Controversy over Oscar's Olympic eligibility
"If they [the IAAF] ever found evidence that I was gaining an advantage, then I would stop running because I would not want to compete at a top level if I knew I had an unfair advantage." --Oscar PistoriusPistorius has been the subject of criticism because of claims that his artificial limbs give him an advantage over able-bodied runners. The artificial limbs in question are J-shaped carbon-fiber prosthetics called the "Cheetah Flex-Foot", manufactured by Icelandic company Össur.
One claim is that the "blades" he uses are longer than is necessary, allowing him to cover more ground in each stride. It is also said that the Cheetahs return more energy per stride without ever becoming fatigued or requiring the same "investment of energy" and that they are not subject to metabolite or lactic acid build-up that slows down ordinary athletes.
Pistorius and his coach, Ampie Louw, reject these allegations, saying that his prosthetics do not give him an unfair advantage. They have brought up disadvantages that Pistorius faces, such as rain (which leaves traction hard to attain), wind (which blows the devices sideways), and the fact that he needs more energy to start running than others. Additionally, Professor Robert Gailey of the University of Miami claimed that they return only about 80% of the energy absorbed in each stride, while a natural leg returns up to 240%, providing much more spring.
In June 2007, the IAAF amended its competition rules to include a ban on 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". It claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius.
To decide if he is running with an unfair advantage, the IAAF monitored his track performances using high-definition cameras to film his race against Italian club runners in Rome on July 13, 2007, and his 400 meters in Sheffield on July 15, 2007, at which he placed last. In Rome, the IAAF analysis revealed an unusual "pacing strategy", suggesting a difference in performance that could be explained by the advantage given by the Cheetah prosthetics.
In November 2007, German professor Gert-Peter Brueggemann began testing the artificial limbs for the International Association of Athletics Federations. His study found that Pistorius's limbs used 25% less energy than able-bodied runners to run at the same speed, and that they led to less vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body. In December, Brueggemann told Die Welt newspaper that Pistorius "has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us. It was more than just a few percentage points. I did not expect it to be so clear."
Based on these findings, on January 14, 2008 the IAAF ruled Pistorius ineligible for competitions conducted under the IAAF rules, including the 2008 Summer Olympics. Pistorius has called the decision "premature and highly subjective" and pledged to continue fighting for his dream. His manager Peet van Zyl said his appeal would be based on advice from United States experts who had said that the report "did not take enough variables into consideration". Pistorius subsequently appealed against the adverse decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and appeared before the tribunal at the end of April 2008.
On May 16, 2008, the CAS reversed the IAAF's ban, clearing the way for Pistorius to try and qualify for the Olympics. In its decision, it held that there was insufficient evidence that Pistorius's prosthetics provided any metabolic advantage over able-bodied runners. However, the CAS panel stressed their verdict only applied to the specific case at hand, and that the IAAF might in the future be able to prove the existence of such an advantage, with advances in scientific knowledge and tests designed and carried out to the satisfaction of Pistorius and the IAAF.
In response to the announcement, Pistorius said: "My focus throughout this appeal has been to ensure that disabled athletes be given the chance to compete and compete fairly with able-bodied athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify for the Olympics." To have a chance of representing South Africa in the individual 400-meter race, Pistorius must attain the Olympic "A" standard time of 45.55 seconds or the "B" qualifying time of 45.95 seconds if no other athlete from his country achieves the faster time.
Each national athletics federation is permitted to enter three athletes in an event if the "A" standard is met, and only one athlete if the "B" standard is met. However, Pistorius is eligible for selection as a member of the relay squad without qualifying. If Pistorius succeeds, he will become the first leg amputee to participate in the Olympic Games.
Sources: Ossur, Wikipedia, The Science of Sport
E:60 Blade Runner, Part 1 (Video)
E:60 Blade Runner, Part 2 (Video)
Media Coverage of the Oscar Pistorius Controversy
Sites dedicated to covering every change in the
- The Science of Sport
- The Science of Sport has been against Oscar's participation in the Olympics from the beginning. They provide detailed analysis of the scientific arguments both for and against Oscar's participation...but mostly against!
- The Final Sprint
- The Final Sprint have been ardent supporters of Oscar's bid to run in the Olympics. They are always on top of the recent news.
Quick Poll: Is the news coverage of Oscar biased?
Oscar's best performances
"When people ask me what it is like having artificial legs, I reply, 'I don't know. What's it like having real legs?'" --Oscar PistoriusChampionships
100m - 2004 USA Endeavor Games (11.62)
200m - 2004 USA Endeavor Games (22.71)
200m - 2004 Summer Paralympics (21.97)
100m - 2005 Visa Paralympic World Cup (11.23)
200m - 2005 Visa Paralympic World Cup (22.01)
100m - 2006 IPC World Championships (11.32)
200m - 2006 IPC World Championships (21.80)
400m - 2006 IPC World Championships (49.42)
400m - 2007 South African Senior Athletics Championships (46.56)
100m - 2007 Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled (10.91)
200m - 2007 Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled (21.58)
100m - 2008 Summer Paralympics (11.17)
200m - 2008 Summer Paralympics (21.67)
Personal Records
10.91WR - 100m
21.58WR - 200m
46.25WR - 400m - Lucerne (2008)
Sources: Ossur, Wikipedia, Beijing Paralympics
Interviews with Oscar Pistorius
Do you know of a great interview that Oscar has given? Add it to the list here! With your help, this list will be the comprehensive source for all of Oscar's interviews!
Here's my favorite link:
My personal take on Oscar Pistorius and his competing in the Olympic Games
News and Views about Oscar from the Blogosphere!
- ‘Born to Run’, Oscar Pistorius Feature - Good Weekend Magazine ...
- ?Born to Run' - Oscar Pistorius. (The Good Weekend is a magazine of features published with the weekend editions of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers in Sydney and Melbourne.)
- Oscar Pistorius
- Through birth or circumstance, some are given certain gifts, but it's what one does with those gifts, the hours devoted to training, the desire to be the best, that is at the true heart of a champion. (Weihenmayer, 200.
- Today In SA - Pistorius congratulated by Madiba
- SA Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius says, being congratulated by Madiba has spurred him on to achieve even more in his life. Medalists from the Paralympic team met the former president at the nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton on ...
- ‘Bladerunner’ Wins Appeal
- Double amputee Oscar Pistorius (featured previously at Neatorama) has won an appeal and will compete to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. The 21-year-old, who runs on specially adapted carbon fibre blades after having his legs amputated ...
Got an opinion about Oscar Pistorius?
What do you think about Oscar Pistorius or this lens?
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sherileigh75
Beautiful. This man should be an inspiration to people everywhere. Posted May 29, 2008 |
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spirituality
Great lens. Posted May 21, 2008 |
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