Pistorius's Success May Pave the Way for Furture College Para-Athletes

By Meg White on July 18, 2012

Photo: REUTERS

 

 

On August 4th, South African Oscar Pistorius will compete in the 400 meter dash at the XXX Olympiad in London, England, and will give hope to young para-athletes around the world.

Having lost his lower legs in childhood due to a congenital disorder, Pistorius now runs on Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon-fiber prosthetic blades. These blades, however, have led to controversy. On July 17th, former gold medalist Michael Johnson spoke out against Pistorius, stating that he may possess an unfair advantage those competing on flesh and bone legs. Johnson’s concern is one that Pistorius has faced in the past. In 2008, he fought the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) amendment that banned 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.” The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Pristorius’s artificial limbs do not give him any significant advantage, and granted him the eligibility to compete against able-bodied athletes. Since that ruling, Pistorius has set his sights on Olympic gold, competing impressively at the 2008 Paralymics and at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. His presence in London will be inspirational to many, and the technology behind his blades could be opening the doors for athletes with prosthetic limbs very soon.

Across the United States, young athletes are already running faster, throwing harder, and just moving better than they thought they ever could with the help of Össur. An Iceland based company that specializes in making non-invasive orthopedics products—including the Cheetah Flex-Foot prosthetics that Pistorius utilizes—is currently pushing the boundaries of prostheses including how they respond to its wearer’s needs. In his article “Let ’Em Play” for ESPN.com, Eric Adelson details how through the use of next gen technology, Össur is exploring the process of wiring its prosthetics to a person’s existing nervous systems, giving the wearer the ability to twist and turn just as well if not better than the normal human body.

These advances, though, do not supersede their wearers’ need for training and discipline. Pistorius’s own training sessions end with him removing his blades to see blisters and cuts on his skin from the friction of carbon rubbing against flesh. And just as there is more to running than simply putting one foot in front of the other, so will there be to using Össur’s new technology. It requires the wearer to constantly will his or her prosthesis to move in the same way the brain naturally signals the body. Instead of simply raising your arm to catch a ball or your legs breaking into a run because you want them to; imagine if you had to be completely focused on it while competing.

Yet, as this technology becomes more readily available, questions will be raised of how organization such as the NCAA will rule on talented student athletes who just happen to run, pitch, kick,  jump, swim, and train with prosthetic limbs. Currently the NCAA ascribes to the same IAAF regulation that hindered Pistorius in 2008. Now, though, as athletes with prosthetic limbs take to the football field in San Diego and to the track in the Bay Area to the joy and admiration of teammates and fans, will the NCAA be forced to re-define its laws? Or will it continue to limit when and how an athlete with a prosthetic limb can participate? Especially, once those athletes have seen Pistorius’s performance in London, on the biggest stage one can dream to compete? Or will it allow the best college athletes in the United States to face one another regardless of how a person happens to walk out onto the field?

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