Prosthetic legs an advantage?

2007-07-16 16:48

London - The prosthetic legs that double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius races with provide less air resistance than normal legs, the IAAF said on Monday.

Pistorius, who competed against elite able-bodied athletes on Sunday at the British Grand Prix, wears curved, carbon-fiber prosthetic legs when he races.

Hoping to be allowed to compete at the Beijing Olympics next year, Pistorius also ran in a B race in Rome on Friday, and finished second.

"The guy Oscar beat on Friday - the stride length was the same, but the speed through the air was slower for the able-bodied guy," IAAF spokesperson Nick Davies said. "This research makes us want to do more."

The International Association of Athletic Federations has been reviewing footage from two high definition cameras that filmed Pistorius in Rome to determine if his prosthetic racing legs give him an unfair advantage.

Davies said the initial research also showed that the way Pistorius distributed energy was virtually the opposite to able-bodied runners. And unlike able-bodied runners, Pistorius was faster at the end of the race instead of the beginning.

Pistorius finished second on Friday in 46.90 seconds. But against the elite field on Sunday in Sheffield, England, he was the last racer across the finish line and was then disqualified for running outside his lane.

Pistorius was not banned

The IAAF introduced a rule in March banning any runner deemed to benefit from artificial help from competing, but Davies said that was not necessarily meant to include athletes like Pistorius.

"Maybe he's overreacting over certain things. He seems to think that we've banned him then decided he was eligible," Davies said. "We clarified the situation. No one has banned him. We want to give him the benefit of the doubt."

Davies also said the IAAF was not discriminating against disabled athletes, citing legally blind runner Marla Runyan of the United States, who competed in the 1 500 at the 2000 Olympics and in the 5 000 in Athens four years later.

"We need to separate emotion from the science," Davies said. "We all wish him well. The point here is what's going to happen in 10 years? What happens if it continues to evolve?"

Davies said the IAAF's research was being overseen by director of development Elio Locatelli, who is a former chief coach of the Italian athletics team, and that the governing body of the sport hoped to work with Pistorius in the biomechanics department of the Cologne-based German Sport University.

- AP