Prosthetics distinguish runner, don’t help him excel

By Gregg Hennigan

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Count my family among those who will be rooting for the “Blade Runner,” Oscar Pistorius, in the London Olympics.

Pistorius is the South African runner who will compete in the 400 meters and 4x400 relay. He also is a double amputee below the knees, running on carbon-fiber blades.

Whether those prosthetics give him an unfair advantage has been debated for years, and that has intensified in recent weeks as the Olympics approached.

I had been on the fence on whether Pistorius should get to run in the Games. Then, in early July, my wife and I had the 20-week ultrasound for our unborn child. We thought the big surprise would be learning the sex (it's a boy!).

Instead it was that our son has only one bone in each of his lower legs, the same condition that affected Pistorius. Our boy's lower legs also are shorter than normal and the feet are pointed down, like he's on his tiptoes.

There are more questions than answers right now, but there's a strong chance our son will have his lower legs amputated around his first birthday.

It's not just our son's condition that will have my wife, 3-year-old daughter and other family members cheering on Pistorius, however. I've read a lot of articles on Pistorius of late and now believe it is right for him to be allowed to run.

Although some people cite everything from the lighter weight of Pistorius' blades compared with legs to their supposedly causing him to use less energy than an able-bodied runner, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2008 determined he had no net advantage and cleared him to compete against able-bodied runners.

But this is bigger than one runner. Some commentators worry that allowing Pistorius to run is opening a Pandora's box. What happens when prosthetics become so advanced they do give someone an unfair advantage?

First, I'd say athletic associations can consider rules to address this. Already certain products, such as powders and shakes, that improve performance are permitted, but steroids and blood doping are forbidden. An example with equipment is regulations that limit the effect of aluminum baseball bats.

Also, you'd be naive to think some athletes do not enjoy advantages over others. Iowa native Lolo Jones claimed the final spot on the U.S. women's 100-meter hurdles Olympic team after having access to sophisticated form-evaluating technology funded by Red Bull. Do you suppose the woman who finished just behind Jones, by four-hundredths of a second, at the Olympic trials would have liked to have used that?

Never mind that a fancy prosthetic could never be the sole reason someone excels. I've yet to see an answer for why, if Pistorius' blades provide such an advantage, he will be the first leg amputee to run in an Olympics. Besides the very real possibility that the prosthetics provide no boost, there's this: Exceptional athletes possess a host of physical and mental abilities that make them special.

So don't feel sad for our family. We're way past that. While no parents would ever choose this for their child, our son will be raised to know that he has our full support and any extra hurdles he faces in life can be cleared with hard work.

Maybe, some day, he'll do so in the Olympics.

Gregg Hennigan is a Gazette reporter whose beat includes Iowa City city government and schools. Comments: gregg.

hennigan@sourcemedia.com