An unfair advantage?

NEWS FACT: South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius wants to compete in the Olympic Games. But the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) says that he should not be eligible. IAAF officials argue that Pistorius's artificial legs, called Cheetahs, give him an unfair advantage.

Pistorius lost both his legs at the age of 11 months. He learned to walk, then run, using prosthetics (artificial limbs). This year, Pistorius ran at record-breaking speeds in events for disabled athletes. In March, he competed against able-bodied runners in the South African National Championships, and finished in second place.

Although his times would normally make Pistorius an Olympic contender, he may not be allowed to compete in the 2008 Games in Beijing. The IAAF says that his artificial limbs, which are specially designed for sprinting, give him an unfair advantage in height and stride.

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"With all due respect, we cannot accept something that provides advantages," says Elio Locatelli, the director of development for the IAAF. "Next will be another device where people can fly with something on their backs."

What Do You Think?

Does technology give Pistorius an unfair advantage?

YES Ellen Goodman, a columnist for The Boston Globe, says that Pistorius's prosthetics put him in a different category from able-bodied runners. For that reason, she believes, a separate event is "the right place for the 'fastest man on no legs.'"

Taylor Palmer, a ninth-grader at the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York, agrees. She thinks that Pistorius could actually be opening himself up to criticism if he competes with able-bodied runners. "If he wins, people will be like, 'Oh, it's not fair. He has a disability that allows him to get things the rest of us can't get.'"

Other people argue that Pistorius's artificial legs make him ineligible for Olympic competition. "The rule book sags a foot has to be in contact with the starting block," sags Leon Fleiser, a general manager of the South African Olympic Committee. "What is the definition of a foot? Is a prosthetic device a foot, or is it an actual foot?"

NO Brooks Reavill is an eighth-grader at Talcott Mountain Academy in Avon, Connecticut. He points out that medical technology, which aids many athletes, does not create champions. Since having laser eye surgery, "Tiger Woods may be able to see better, but that doesn't help him hit the ball farther."

Likewise, Pistorius asserts that it's hard work, not his Cheetahs, that make him a winner. "I train harder than other guys, eat better, sleep better, and wake up thinking about athletics," he sags.

Jake Madle, a ninth-grader at Alpena High School in Arkansas, agrees. "Just because this young man has artificial legs it doesn't make him faster," he tells JS. "It is the persistence and the ability to push yourself to the limit that make a runner fast."

Sports ethicist Angela Schneider puts it another way: "A guy's struggle against all odds [is] one of the fundamental principles of the Olympics."

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