Roger I. Abrams: The Future of Sport Has Begun

The future of sport arrived on Friday with the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to allow South Africa's premier runner, double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, to compete in the 400-meter Olympic sprints and relays this summer. Many folks would call Pistorius disabled, simply because he does not have lower legs and feet. He does use metal carbon-fiber blades on the track as substitutes, though, and the generally conservative International Association of Athletics Federations had ruled him ineligible because his "Cheetah Flex Foot" blades offered him an advantage. In fact, tests conducted by a team led by MIT professor Hugh M. Herr demonstrated convincingly that he does not gain any advantage over able-bodied runners. The CAS panel has now unanimously ruled that it "was not persuaded that there was sufficient evidence of any metabolic advantage in favor of a double-amputee" and "that the IAAF did not prove that the biomechanical effects of using this particular prosthetic device gives Oscar ... [link]