Olympic run ends for Pistorius

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won't be running in the Beijing Games.

The South African Olympic team today opted not to include Pistorius on its 1,600-meter relay team. The relay was the last chance for Pistorius, who, earlier in the week ran a personal best 46.25 in the 400 meter race, but fell short of the 45.55 qualifying time.

Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene said that four other South Africans had faster times, and Pistorius was not one of two athletes chosen as alternates for the Beijing Games.
The decision ended a months-long battle for Pistorius, both on the track and in court.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier had overturned an IAAF ban on Pistorius, whose nickname -- "Blade Runner" -- referred to his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs. The IAAF had ruled that Pistorius enjoyed an unfair advantage from his J-shaped carbon fiber blades.

“From the beginning, we knew that he had to qualify,” Pistorius' manager, Peet Van Zyl, said via Associated Press. “We didn’t expect him to be granted any special opportunity or anything. The rules are the rules.”

Yet controversy lingered even after South Africa named its Olympic track and field squad.

The IAAF on Thursday said that it had been supportive of Pistorius’ bid to run at the Olympics -- despite comments made earlier this week by general secretary who said publicly that Pistorius could pose a danger to other runners because of his blade-like prosthetics.

Those comments “have no effect on the official eligibility of Oscar Pistorius, nor should they be misconstrued as a personal attack on Oscar,” the IAAF said in a statement.

Pistorius does plan to run in the Paralympic Games in Beijing that will be held from Sept. 6-17.

-- Greg Johnson

Photo: Sprinter Oscar Pistorius starts the men's 400 meters race at the Track and Field Golden Gala meeting in Rome's Olympic stadium on July 11. Credit: Andrew Medichini/Associated Press Photo

Comments

[ESB]

Mr. Pistorius should never have been allowed to enter the qualifying trials for the Beijing Olympics. How can someone with engineered limbs compete fairly with other runners?

[Frank]

@ ESB: The other runners' limbs were "engineered" by evolution, genetics, diet, and training. Besides, Pistorius competed without the "full" complement of bones, muscles and tendons. What's the beef?

[RVDW]

If he was winning all the races that he ran and breaking able body world records time after time, then I would've thought that he might have an advantage, but he was actually just trying to qualify, so if that is an unfair advantage by just trying to qualify, you know nothing about sport. If he was an American this whole country would've backed him to make the team, and I'm pretty sure with this melodramatic character that Americans have, he probably would've made the team, and had A LOT of endorsement deals, appearances etc. etc.

[The Rodentman]

Next they'll be banning kids with hearing aids from spelling bees.

As an amputee myself, this is a colossal disappointment. Maybe you'd like to walk a mile in his mocossins before banning him from the Olympics.

[BMJOJ]

An amazing, and an amazingly BRAVE young athlete, is this Mr. Pistorius.

The sports physiologists, etcetera, have also already studied this, and have long since concluded MONTHES back, that Mr. Pistorius' artificial limbs, offer him, "NO ARTIFICIAL or unnatural boost" to or for his athletic performances, in this case for the incredibly demanding Track and Sprinting event it really has now become of the 400 meters, SPRINT events.
(*You want to try running ALL-OUT, basically SPRINTING for an entire 1/4 mile?! Add to that that ONE SLIP with those TINY track "feet" appendages of Mr. Pistorius, could possibly Cripple you further or even kill you, ie with a bad HEAD INJURY, if God Forbid, Mr. Pistorius would ever take a BAD Trip or TUMBLE during a race, and you can see, that This man has gotten NO "artifical aids"{Unlike Baseball "Power" Hitters$ on STEROIDS$, or Power lifters/body builders going crazy from that TRULY artificial and TRULY Dangerous "STEROIDS$" stuff!] for his again very, very HEROIC Track and Field Career!).
We've been through this BEFORE in NFL Football, with the GREAT Kicker for the New orleans SAINTS, Tom DEMPSEY, and his truncated right front, kicking foot(THAT man too, went through alot of unknown, PAIN during each of his place kicks, etcetera, as well), who doth still hold his quite NATURAL and Human Record of the 63 Yard NFL Field Goal Record(*Or, maybe some other kicker has finally Broken that one, forget, but DEMPSEY's was a naturally achieved record, too, disabled PEOPLE, have to go through so much petty bigotry, and AGAIN, the Sports Computer Physiologists say that IF ANYTHING, mr. Pistorius's ARTIFICIAL Limbs, and their Pain, etcetera, are an IMPEDIMENT to his Track SuccesseS, and are offering the MAN NO "Artificial or Synthetic" or 'Steroids$-like" unnatural assistance, at ALL! Let's be clear on these medical and sports facts, ... 'kay?)

[Kudzu Fire]

I have mixed feelings about this, especially considering the controversies in say baseball over enhanced athletes. But I still have to admire a man with a real disability who over comes real adversity.

[Trevor]

he is a great athlete. the fact that he's as fast as he is could serve as anecdotal evidence that the prosthetics might in fact offer an "advantage" versus being able-bodied (because the odds of anybody being that fast are not good), but there's really no feasible way to know for sure. ("advantage" meaning that all other things equal, people with prosthetics would on average be faster that people without. but it'd be nigh impossible to control for all the other variables.)

the way it should be is if one person gets to wear springs, everybody should get to wear springs. that would be a valid competition on a "level playing field". but it would be a different sport (or at least different event) with its own records.

(this all makes you wonder: how fast could tyson gay run with prosthetics in addition to his own lower legs, and how fast with them instead of his lower legs, if he re-trained for it?)