After the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a ban Friday by the International Association of Athletics Federations, double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius can compete in the Beijing Olympic Games. What does this mean for the future of track and field?
Pistorius, 21, is a South African athlete who has excelled in Paralympic competition. He holds Paralympic world records in the 100, 200 and 400-meter events. His strongest event is the 400, in which he has a personal-best time of 46.56 seconds.
The Olympic “A” standard in the 400 is 45.55 seconds. After the debate over allowing Pistorius to compete against able-bodied athletes, will he even make the team? If not, he still has a shot at the South African 4×400-meter relay team, which does not require a qualifying time. He also plans to compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games, in Beijing, Sept. 6-17.
Read the rest of this entry »
Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal to be eligible to compete in the Olympics using the carbon-fiber prosthetics that have gained him the nickname “Blade Runner.'’
The Court of Arbitration for Sport today overturned a ban on the 21-year-old South African runner by the International Association of Athletics Federations, which said studies found the prosthetic blades gave him an unfair advantage.
“The panel was not persuaded that there was sufficient evidence of any metabolic advantage,'’ the Lausanne, Switzerland-based court said in a ruling on its Web site.
Pistorius needs to shave 1.01 seconds from his best time to reach the Olympic qualifying standard for the 400-meter sprint to compete in the race at the Beijing Games in August. The Associated Press said he may be picked as an alternate for the South African team even if he doesn’t meet the qualifying mark.
Read the rest of this entry »
Today, it was announced that Oscar Pistorius has made the 2008 TIME 100, the annual list published by TIME Magazine, which identifies the 100 most influential people in the world. Oscar is in good company, including the Dalai Lama, Lance Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin, and Al Gore.
While TIME refuses to rank the 100 in importance, but does create categories – Oscar is listed third in the Heroes & Pioneers list, just after Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Oprah Winfrey – the magazine also conducted a poll amongst its readers to hear whom they thought should be on the list, and Oscar placed 19th.
Just one year ago, very few people in the world were aware of this young South African bilateral amputee who may very well change the history of sport because of his resolve and determination to compete on equal ground and without apologies against able-bodied athletes.
Read the rest of this entry »
One of the most talked-about sports stories of the past year is the controversy surrounding Oscar Pistorius, the bi-lateral amputee sprinter who is trying to make a bid for the Olympics and is appealing the IAAF’s ruling that he has a technical advantage. Ossur, the maker of those Cheetahs, invites everyone to form their own opinion based on new information as presented by ESPN’s E:60, Good Morning America, Nightline, and ESPN Magazine.
Looking for insights into this game-changing issue that raises scientific, ethical and philosophical questions, and for the past three months, ESPN’s investigative journalists have traveled the globe to learn more. They interviewed Oscar, his family, coach, prosthetist, friends, competitors, lawyers, and Ossur, too. They also interviewed Professor Bruggemann, the German doctor who originally tested him on behalf of the IAAF.
What to see on April 15th:
In addition, ESPN Magazine’s April 21st cover story will delve into Oscar’s case.
Read the rest of this entry »
Kenya’s Coach Accused Ethiopians Of Fielding Over-aged Ringers
According to an article on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s website, Kenyan Head Coach Julius Kirwa is accusing arch rivals Ethiopia of “age cheating.” Kirwas, the article states, had told journalists that the junior Kenyan teams had lost at the IAAF WOrld Cross Country Championships this past weekend because of injuries and “because their major opponents from Ethiopia were much older.”
Read more at: [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation]
Oscar Pistorius Will Have His Day In Court
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter who is banned from the Olympics because of an alleged advantage offered to him by his prosthetics, is set to appear before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the highest appeals court in international sport, on April 29th and 30th.
Read more at: [The Canadian Press]
Gatlin To Argue His Case Before CAS
Speaking of appeals by sprinters, Justin Gatlin is set to have his own day in court. The CAS has agreed to hear his case on May 28th and 29th. Gatlin is insisting that he never knowingly took steroids. A lift on his ban could allow him to compete at the US Olympic Trials in June and July.
Read more at: [The Canadian Press]
Read the rest of this entry »
Epic Battle Shaping Up Between Pistorius and IAAF
Armed with a new set of results that contradicts the IAAF’s, Oscar Pistorius is confident about winning the appeal of his suspension. The IAAF is standing by their decision.
Read more at: [Times Online, UK][Sports Illustrated]
IAAF Defends Dwain Chambers
The IAAF is defending drug cheat Dwain Chambers’ right to compete. IAAF president Lamine Diack said, “I won’t make a special case out of this. When we have rules, we respect them.”
Read more at: [Sports Illustrated]
Article Focuses On Alicia Shay’s Beijing Pursuit
An article focusing on Alicia Shay’s pursuit of her Olympic dream in honor of her late husband Ryan is featured on InsideBayArea.com
Read more at: [InsideBayArea.com]
Photo courtesy of Alicia Shay.
Read the rest of this entry »
Coe: Track & Field Can’t Survive Another Drug Scandal
Double Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe said that another scandal could wreck the sport of track & field, saying, “we cannot have another five years like the one we’ve just been through because I’m not sure the sport would survive that.”
Read more at: [The Age]
Oregon High Schooler Runs 1:52 800m With No Speed Work
Having done no speedwork yet, Elijah Greer, a junior from Oswego High School, ran an outstanding early-season time of 1:52.66 at the University of Washington’s Husky Classic. It is the best prep time of the season.
Read more at: [The Oregonian]
Pistorius May Have New Evidence To Help His Appeal
Oscar Pistorius, the South African 400m sprinter who has been banned by the IAAF, may have new evidence to help him when he appeals the ruling that his two prosthetic legs give him an advantage over runners with two legs.
Read more at: [News24.com, South Africa]
Read the rest of this entry »
Pistorius Launches Appeal
Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee (both legs below the knees) who was banned from competing against able-bodied athletes by the IAAF because they were said to offer him a physiological advantage, has launched an appeal with the Court of Arbitration of Sport. His goal is to qualify for the Olympics in the 400m dash.
Read more at: [The Press Association]
British MP’s Say Cheats Should Be Banned For Life
Members of the British Parliament are weighing in on the recent decision to allow Dwain Chambers to compete again after a two-year suspension. MP Hugh Robertson said, “once somebody has taken drugs and been found out, that should be it.”
Read more at: [Kent Online, UK]
Coe: Cheats Aren’t “Sucked In” But Are “Absolutely Complicit”
Lord Sebastian Coe, twice an Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain, doesn’t buy cheating athletes’ arguments that they weren’t aware of what they were doing when they took drugs, sating, “I do not accept there are any circumstances where athletes like Dwain Chambers are sucked into something without being absolutely complicit.”
Read more at: [Times Online, UK]
Read the rest of this entry »
My recent post titled “Not the Triumph, But the Struggle?,” about Oscar Pistorius and the IAAF’s decision not to allow him to compete in the sport of track & field, generated some interesting feedback from one of our long-time readers.
Jim Fortner of Jim2.net, in his reply to my article that accuses the IAAF of being unfair, heartless, discriminatory and elitist, wrote that “this issue is not a humanistic one. It is a question of fairness in competition and ensuring a level playing field.”
Mr. Fortner also wrote that “this kind of emotional article bashing the IAAF for doing its job is pointless and contributes nothing to the real issue of what is and is not fair and suitable in athletic competitions.”
Read the rest of this entry »
IAAF Overrides British Governing Body Ruling
British sprinter Dwain Chambers got support from the IAAF when UK Athletics ruled him ineligible for a “comeback” because of a 2003 positive test for steroids. In a messy dispute that could end up in court, UKA is sticking to a ruling stating that retired athletes must undergo a year of negative tests. The IAAF, however, is stating that they never received an official retirement letter, so the rule does not apply to him unless UKA can produce such a letter.
Read more at: [Times Online, UK][Athletics Weekly][More]
Michael Johnson Backs IAAF’s Pistorius Ban
Michael Johnson, the retired 400m world-record holder, agrees with the IAAF’s decision to ban double-amputee Oscar Pistorius because his prosthetic legs (dubbed “Cheetahs”) offer him an “unfair advantage” over other athletes. “If he was racing at the same time as me,” Johnson said, “I would also think the same thing.”
Read more at: [The Tide]
Wariner and Legendary Coach Hart Ways
Clyde Hart, Baylor’s legendary coach who trained Michael Johnson, has parted ways with current 400m world champion Jeremy Wariner after a contract dispute in which Wariner sought to reduce the coach’s percentage. Sanya Richards will continue to train under Hart.
Read more at: [Waco Tribune]
Read the rest of this entry »
The Final Sprint and I have the utmost respect and admiration for handicapped athletes and are proud to be official sponsors of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. These gifted individuals demonstrate incredible resolve and the power of the human spirit by successfully participating, competing and excelling in athletics despite their physical disabilities.
Today’s podcast features an […]
Oscar Pistorius, a paralympic gold-medalist, is fighting his way to an enormous personal and historical victory. With a mere three-second improvement he will surpass his own world record (47.3 seconds in the 400m) and get a step closer to qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. If Pistorius succeeds, he could become the […]
© 2006-2008 The Final Sprint, LLC | Privacy Policy | Design by The Blog Studio
The Final Sprint, LLC is owned and operated by Adam Jacobs
The Final Sprint