Athletics 'Blade runner'

[empip]

Oscar Pistorius :-

...For anyone who was unsure, the 24-year-old South African has proved it. On Tuesday night in Lignano, Italy, Pistorius finally ran the A-standard qualifying time for this year's world championships and next year's Olympic Games, leaving the field trailing as he won the 400 metres in a new personal best of 45.07sec.

The time is remarkable – good enough for fifth at the Beijing Games and fourth at the Berlin world championships in 2009 – it is 0.18 inside the A-standard time. No able-bodied British runner has posted a time anywhere near that this season...

Where is that line which matters when the person is not a contender... The strategy - Saving one's best until the benevolent legislative spotlight has moved on ??

-0-

 

[wreckedit]

Quote from BBC sports news
OLYMPICS - South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius will be made welcome at next year's Olympics, according to London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe. Pistorius achieved the 400m qualifying mark this week, clocking a personal best of 45.07 seconds, and is set to compete at the World Championships in August. "He is eligible [for the Olympics] and I am guessing he will want to compete. We will welcome him," said Coe.


I personally think the guy is getting assistance from the blades.

 

[imamartian]

The guy from Sheffield who recently chose to have rockets to replace his amputated lower legs.... welcomed Seb Coe's comments !!!

 

[TheOriginalTonkaToy]

Quote from BBC sports news
OLYMPICS - South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius will be made welcome at next year's Olympics, according to London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe. Pistorius achieved the 400m qualifying mark this week, clocking a personal best of 45.07 seconds, and is set to compete at the World Championships in August. "He is eligible [for the Olympics] and I am guessing he will want to compete. We will welcome him," said Coe.


I personally think the guy is getting assistance from the blades.

They've been extensively tested and shown to provide no more advantage to an athlete than legs. The energy stored in the blades as they flex is much the same as that in muscles and tendons.

 

[imamartian]

Quote from BBC sports news
OLYMPICS - South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius will be made welcome at next year's Olympics, according to London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe. Pistorius achieved the 400m qualifying mark this week, clocking a personal best of 45.07 seconds, and is set to compete at the World Championships in August. "He is eligible [for the Olympics] and I am guessing he will want to compete. We will welcome him," said Coe.


I personally think the guy is getting assistance from the blades.

They've been extensively tested and shown to provide no more advantage to an athlete than legs. The energy stored in the blades as they flex is much the same as that in muscles and tendons.

the only way to measure that accurately is on the same person.... !!

 

[LooPrEvil]

I wonder what time the rest of us would get if we ran with such attachments?

Let Usain Bolt wear a pair and then you have a true comparison.

 

[sooey]

They've been extensively tested and shown to provide no more advantage to an athlete than legs. The energy stored in the blades as they flex is much the same as that in muscles and tendons.

Muscles get tired and tendons get strained, that won't happen with his blades, which is an advantage in itself.
Besides what would happen if he does a Zola Budd and steps on someones anke....he'd probably take their foot off.

 

[wreckedit]

The thing is with a leg of flesh, bone and blood it has to be trained to a level of fitness to make it perform. Where as a very high tech. device which has been developed in a laboratory has nothing human about it other than in the development. Say, some legs were made that behaved even better and improved his time even more. Where's the human effort, sweat, toil, pain and endeavour in that?
In order for the differences to be proved they should amputate a 45s runners legs and fit him up with blades.
One day a high jumper with 9ft blades is going to turn up and step over the bar in the high jump competition. Or do a long jump of 36ft. Perish the thought. Then all these plonkers, like Coe, are going to be in trouble.

 

[imamartian]

it's political correctness gone mad again !! because as soon as you say he can't enter he'll say "is it 'cus i is disabled?" !!!!

 

[TheOriginalTonkaToy]

Quote from BBC sports news
OLYMPICS - South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius will be made welcome at next year's Olympics, according to London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe. Pistorius achieved the 400m qualifying mark this week, clocking a personal best of 45.07 seconds, and is set to compete at the World Championships in August. "He is eligible [for the Olympics] and I am guessing he will want to compete. We will welcome him," said Coe.


I personally think the guy is getting assistance from the blades.

They've been extensively tested and shown to provide no more advantage to an athlete than legs. The energy stored in the blades as they flex is much the same as that in muscles and tendons.

the only way to measure that accurately is on the same person.... !!

Not at all - it's not that difficult to measure the amount of energy returned for a given input.

 

[TheOriginalTonkaToy]

They've been extensively tested and shown to provide no more advantage to an athlete than legs. The energy stored in the blades as they flex is much the same as that in muscles and tendons.

Muscles get tired and tendons get strained, that won't happen with his blades, which is an advantage in itself.
Besides what would happen if he does a Zola Budd and steps on someones anke....he'd probably take their foot off.

Most of the energy comes from the large muscles in the upper leg and so blade users are still subject to the same fatigue and strain as an able bodied runner - maybe even more so as there will be more muscle action required to preserve balance as well as impel the body forward. The calf muscles largely provide for foot flexion and the long tendon attached to the hallux (big toe) gives the 'spring' in conjunction with a smaller muscle. To perform at olympic or international athletics level with blades you're still going to have to be a remarkable athlete.

If there weren't sufficient evidence for the blades not giving performance gain then they simply wouldn't be allowed to be used in competition against able bodied athletes.

 

[imamartian]

Not at all - it's not that difficult to measure the amount of energy returned for a given input.

but it's not that simple, you've got a biological process, versus a mechanical entity..


And i'm sure you can change the 'springyness' of the blade at will, almost off the shelf....whereas the athlete needs to train relentlessly to perfect their calves, ankles and feet... so muscles, bones, tendons etc..

 

[TheOriginalTonkaToy]

Not at all - it's not that difficult to measure the amount of energy returned for a given input.

but it's not that simple, you've got a biological process, versus a mechanical entity..


And i'm sure you can change the 'springyness' of the blade at will, almost off the shelf....whereas the athlete needs to train relentlessly to perfect their calves, ankles and feet... so muscles, bones, tendons etc..

I'd bet the blades will have to meet some sort of standard - in any event you'll never get more out than you put in and that's a given. The muscles that make the difference for a runner are the big long muscles in the upper leg anyway.

 

[imamartian]

what standard? this is unique.

legs get tired, metal doesn't....

and the spirit of athletics is one man pitted against another, without pharmacutical or mechanical aid. I'm sorry the guy has no lower legs, but he can't run as fast as me !!!!

 

[TheOriginalTonkaToy]

what standard? this is unique.

legs get tired, metal doesn't....

and the spirit of athletics is one man pitted against another, without pharmacutical or mechanical aid. I'm sorry the guy has no lower legs, but he can't run as fast as me !!!!

As I've said in a previous post, an athelete using blades to compete at that level will be at the same standard of fitness as an able bodied athelete and at the risk of repeating myself further, a blade still relies on the long muscles of the upper leg to propel the athlete forward as does the lower leg of an able bodied athlete. Runners get fatigue in those muscles - a blade user is going to face exactly the same problems.

You can't get something for nothing. To get an energy return, you have to put more energy in. These aren't miracle devices other than letting lower leg amputees compete at a high level. The overall physical demands are still the same.