No Glory for Pistorious?

It was a bad thing that became a good thing, but now it's a bad thing again.

You've heard those distressing stories -- unfortunate individuals who lose an eye or a limb, and then must learn to get along without them. Often they will take their misfortune and turn it around, becoming successful to the point where they embrace their impediment because it was what ultimately got them striving to achieve some amazing goals.

Oscar Pistorius is one such person. He is a sprinter from South Africa, and not just an ordinary sprinter.

Do you know where your fibula are? If you asked Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius, he would certainly know, even though he's never had them. It's the smaller bone in your leg below your knee, on the calf side, opposite the tibia. Necessary for walking and other leg movement. Pistorius was born without fibula; when he was less than a year old his legs were amputated below the knee, and he was introduced to the World of Prosthetics.

Pistorius had the mind and endurance and the spirit of an athlete. In his 20 plus years he has played rugby, water polo, tennis, and was a competitive wrestler. With his athletic prowess, it was almost a given that he would eventually focus on the Olympics.
Beginning with the 2004 Paralympic sprinting events, then the Paralympic athletics world championships in 2006, Pistorius won gold in the 100, 200 and 400 events and broke the world record in the 200m. He was invited by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to take part in the Grand Prix in Helsinki in July 2005, an event for athletes without prosthetics. Pistorius was unable to attend, but the door was opened by the IAAF, and he started competing in high calibre races. Last year he ran the 400m at the Rome Golden Gala finishing second. Then the glorious Pistorious set his sights on the Bejing Olympics.
He has been training exhaustively. Seems you can ride the wave of personal victory for only so long before someone comes along and tries to destroy your dreams. It isn't surprising that from the beginning, there were those who didn't like the idea of a person with no legs competing against those who had two. Besides, Pistorious had "Cheetahs". Let's have a closer look at Pistorious's unfair advantage: his artificial limbs are j-shaped carbon fibre prosthetics called Cheetahs. Turns out they are a bit on the long side, thus enabling him to cover more ground in each stride. And it goes without saying that there would be no fatigue in the lower leg and foot muscles, no lactic acid build-up that slows down ordinary athletes.
In June 2007, the IAAF amended its competition rules to include a ban on 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".
It claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorious. No, it was aimed at the preponderance of potential Olympian sprinters with prosthetic legs.

Pistorious and his coach had countered with the complaint that he faces such disadvantages as rain which inhibits traction, or wind which blows the devices sideways. To no avail.
It became official on January 14, 2008, when the IAAF ruled that Pistorious's limbs were "technical aids in clear contravention of IAAF Rule 144.2" Bad things, then something good, and back to the bad again, see what I mean?

Whadda ya do? If you don't let him run, you are crushing his Olympic dream, and you are in the uncomfortable position of attacking a disabled person. If you do let him run, you're pissing off all the other competitors who endure that lactic acid buildup.

I think as soon as you start making exceptions, you are messing with the Spartans' stringent standards. The original meaning of "Higher, Stronger, Faster" is obliterated.

In my opinion, Pistorious shouldn't be allowed to run.

Then again, the CBC is covering the whole Olympics -- that's something that shouldn't happen either, for that is an outfit more handicapped than any athlete. Indeed, whaddya do?