LA Times: Does amputee sprinter Pistorius have competitive edge?

Peter Weyand, an SMU associate professor of applied physiology and biomechanics, was part of a team of experts in biomechanics and physiology that conducted experiments on Oscar Pistorius. The South African bilateral amputee track athlete has made world headlines trying to qualify for races against runners with intact limbs, including the Olympics.

The team just released their full findings in the “Journal of Applied Physiology.” Some of the findings were previously confidential and are being released now for the first time. The findings were presented earlier to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland in May of 2008.

Reporter Jeannine Stein of the Los Angeles Times reported July 1 on the new findings.

Excerpt:

By Jeannine Stein
Los Angeles Times
Oscar Pistorius is faster on two prosthetic legs than many are on two intact legs, which makes some people believe those legs give the South African athlete an advantage.

While controversy has been simmering about the curved “Cheetah” carbon fiber legs for some time, a new study comparing various aspects of his athletic performance with able-bodied runners sheds some light on the situation. Ultimately, however, it might also make things even muddier.

Pistorius has competed (and won medals) for years in the Paralympics, but in 2007 he ran in an international competition against able-bodied runners. That year the International Assn. of Athletics Federations placed a ban on technical devices incorporating springs, wheels or other elements that could give a benefit to the user, although it denied the ban was linked to Pistorius.

Read the full story.

By Margaret Allen