Why is pistorius allowed in the olympics

I use this model to show that the excellence of exploiting technical aids is far more important for Pistorius than it is for his able-bodied counterparts. From this I conclude that what Pistorius does when he runs is not comparable to able-bodied runners. Thus he should not be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympic Games. Name: form.

Size: Format: PDF. Description: Permission Form Admin. Name: thesis. There's only one of him, and only one good study that uses his specific physiology.

There are no other Olympic-level double amputees, and single-leg amputees run totally differently. Imagine your right leg could swing 10 percent faster than your left; your left leg simply could not keep up. A person with one prosthetic and one intact leg can only go as fast as his slowest leg—generally the biological one. To complicate matters further, science doesn't totally understand how running works. They have a working idea, he says, but it's possible that the forces Weyand and Kram are debating aren't important.

Weyland will not say outright whether or not Pistorius should be allowed to run in the Olympics. Perhaps, he says, the sprinter represents something more important than the dispute over his light, springy legs. For Kram, whether Pistorius should run comes down to power. You have to find that desire or have that physiological ability to push.

That's what makes the Olympics special. He's pushed his whole life. Now Pistorius will represent South Africa in the meter race and the 4 x meter relay. Rose Eveleth is a writer and producer who explores how humans tangle with science and technology. She's the creator and host Flash Forward, a podcast about possible and not so possible futures, and has covered everything from fake tumbleweed farms to million dollar baccarat heists.

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See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Read more from this special report: Winning in the Olympics. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits.

See Subscription Options Already a subscriber? Create Account See Subscription Options. Moving to the more profound: I, like many kids, had dreams of reaching the pinnacle of the sports I played. Maybe after a good race, game or match I even took a leap of faith and believed in it, if only for a fleeting moment. Eventually, I abandoned those dreams as cold reality hit. I saw some of my peers who were superior in every area and I slowly let my dream die.

Even if there was a one in a billion shot of getting there, which there might always be, I rationalized that away because it was not enough. I gave up. He has steadfastly chased his dream all the way to the brink of being on the starting line at the Olympics and World Championships.

As I'm sure Bob Costas will inform us, it is a true victory of the human spirit. And now I, a person who lamented about not being gifted enough, want the dreams of a man, who was denied the most basic of all gifts, to never be fulfilled. You probably think it is because I believe Oscar Pistorius has an unfair advantage. It might be the paradox of all paradoxes, but the man without legs has something better—the best modern science and engineering can offer.