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Prosthetic-Limbed Runner Disqualified from Olympic Games

Posted by Zonk on from the street-sams-are-right-around-the-corner dept.

contraba55 wrote with a link to an Engadget story on a sign of the postmodern times. Oscar Pistorius, a world-class sprinter, has been denied a shot at participating in the Olympics this year. He's a double-amputee, but he's not out because of his handicap; he's disqualified because he's faster than most sprinters. "The runner — who uses carbon-fiber, prosthetic feet — was reviewed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (or IAAF), a review which found the combination of man and machine to be too much for its purely human competitors. According to the IAAF report, the 'mechanical advantage of the blade in relation to the healthy ankle joint of an able bodied athlete is higher than 30-percent.' Additionally, Pistorius uses 25-percent less energy than average runners due to the artificial limbs, therefore giving him an unfair advantage on the track."

29 of 509 comments (clear)

  1. man... by jtroutman · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet he's kicking himself now

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    1. Re:man... by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Funny

      I hope the enforce fake boobs on figure skaters as well... Fix that polar inertia advantage once and for all!

    2. Re:man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, the committee really cut his legs out from under him.

    3. Re:man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, but wait until the shoe is on the other foot, and hear ye shitty committee whine about "fair".

    4. Re:man... by EggyToast · · Score: 2, Funny

      It makes sense -- if you're in figure skating, you should have a figure.

    5. Re:man... by Doctor-Optimal · · Score: 5, Funny

      I bet he's kicking himself now

      Yeah, the committee really cut his legs out from under him. Just what I expected on this article: lame jokes.
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    6. Re:man... by DancesWithBlowTorch · · Score: 4, Funny

      It'll only be a few years till the Paralympics will be more exciting than the real thing.

      And disabled people will be beating up young males in the street.

      I, for one... no. I'm not that cheap.

    7. Re:man... by Doctor-Optimal · · Score: 5, Funny

      That was very well done. It may have been too subtle for this crowd.

      Oh man, that was great. Not at all too subtle. I tip my hat to your sir (or maam) and only wish that I had mod points to give you. Thank you guys so much. I'm really just trying to get my footing here at slashdot.
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    8. Re:man... by markov_chain · · Score: 3, Funny

      I might be going out on a limb here, but that was freaking great :)

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      Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
    9. Re:man... by Ghazgkull · · Score: 1, Funny

      I don't see how he could appeal their decision, though.

      Without those prosthetics he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

    10. Re:man... by bark76 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't like running gags?

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    11. Re:man... by 93,000 · · Score: 5, Funny

      With a well-heeled sense of humor like that, you'll find your legs in no time.

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      Sweet informative mod.
    12. Re:man... by bobdotorg · · Score: 4, Funny

      I bet he's kicking himself now

      Nah - he's taking it in stride.

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    13. Re:man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      He was going to appeal, but his lawyer advised him that he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

    14. Re:man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Glad to see that the Slashdot community could give you a leg up.

    15. Re:man... by orclevegam · · Score: 3, Funny

      But that's just it! They don't want to let him race. In soviet Russia, race discriminates against you!
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  2. Headline not accurate. (Surprise!) by raehl · · Score: 5, Funny

    The runner wasn't disqualified. The artificial limbs he had been using were prohibited.

    It's still possible for the runner to compete, so long as he does not use equipment that gives him an unfair advantage.

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    paintball
    1. Re:Headline not accurate. (Surprise!) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      So we strap shoes to his nubs?

      I can see it now - "Dorf on Olympics"...

    2. Re:Headline not accurate. (Surprise!) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is why we need two versions of the Olympics: one for "normals" and another for "mutants" (where anything goes). In no time at all people will quit watching the normal version, and we can finally get to the freak show version of the Olympics people want, where people can use steroids, graft on muscle, bionic parts, flippers, etc.

  3. Genteleman, we can rebuild him. by sehlat · · Score: 3, Funny

    We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Oscar Pistorius will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.

  4. Re:good, no precedent by Patentmat · · Score: 3, Funny

    I bet that if he would have been allowed to compete some athletes would have been tempted to have certain parts of their bodies amputated and replace with more efficient artificial parts.

    The Onion is already got this: "Olympic Runners Feeling Stupid For Cutting Off Legs Before Finding Out About Prosthetic Ban" http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/olympic_runners_feeling

  5. In other news... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Barry Bonds testified today before a Congressional committee that he had never used performance-enhancing double-amputation prosthetic-limb-replacement surgery, in accordance with MLB policy.

    He then bounded over the table and out the door at 40mph.

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  6. Re:Get over it. by Hatta · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, posts like yours seriousize the trivial nature of transhumanism.

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  7. Life imitates art. by El_Smack · · Score: 4, Funny

    And I suppose PitchBot 9000 was just a modified Howitzer?

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  8. Re:good, no precedent by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...trade my legs for $20 million

    How about a pay per view televised event where they amputated your legs with a sledge hammer? It would take many swings, but I'm sure 80's celebrity Gallagher could do it with a live audience protected from flying knee meat by a plastic bib.

    Certainly that would fetch $20 million.

  9. Re:I never thought I'd see the day ... by Timothy+Chu · · Score: 2, Funny

    If I were to intentionally replace my legs with superior artificial constructs, with the specific intention of being a superior athletic competitor as such, I think everybody would be screaming and crying that I shouldn't be allowed to compete.


    You mean like this?

    http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/olympic_runners_feeling
  10. Carbon Footprint by stu_coates · · Score: 3, Funny

    He's really been banned because his carbon footprint is too large! ;-)

    Unfortunate ad placement.

  11. Re:I never thought I'd see the day ... by biovoid · · Score: 3, Funny

    My friends can carry on complete conversations, silently, from across the room - using ASL.

    "32, Male, across the room."

    Not much of a conversation...

  12. Re:good, no precedent by ScrewMaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can tell you without an once of hesitation that if I could trade my legs for $20 million, I'd do it in an instant.

    Go ahead ... that'll just give the rest of us a leg up on you.

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