Physically Challenged?
Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter, has been denied a shot at the Olympics… for being TOO FAST!!
Unfair advantage?
The International Association of Athletics Federations concluded that the combination of man and machine be too much for its purely human competitors. “The mechanical advantage of the blade in relation to the healthy ankle joint of an able bodied athlete is higher than 30%”.
They also reasoned that this advantage enabled Pistorius to use 25% less energy on the track, which would again stack the odds in his favour.
Clearly the prosthetic limbs are not named ‘Cheetah’ for nothing (!) Made of carbon fibre, the foot was designed by Van Phillips, engineered by Hilary Pouchak and manufactured by Ossur North America.
Credit graphic: tandemracer - Flickr.com
Key facts
- In the summer of 2003, American Marlon Shirley became the first leg amputee to break the 10 second barrier for the 100 meters.
- In 2005, Shirley’s records were shattered by South African Oscar Pistorius who clocked a 21.4 for the 200m and 47.34 for the 400m.
Twitter
IT at School
Olympic Technology
Travel the Globe
It is never Game, Set, Match for Technology
Piczo
Britain from above
IT Mobile communications
Log in to comment