Athletics: Pistorius to fight for Olympic dream

Jan 15 2008

BLADE RUNNER Oscar Pistorius is set to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after he was blocked from competing in this summer's Olympic Games.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has barred the double amputee from participating in Beijing because his prosthetic legs were deemed an unfair advantage.

World athletics’ governing body announced their decision this morning after studying the findings of a two-day independent scientific investigation.

They now believe there is “overwhelming scientific evidence” that the 21-year-old South African’s ’Cheetah’ blades are technical aids in clear contravention of IAAF rules, and as it stands he will be denied his dream to compete for his country at the 2008 Games over 400 metres.

No appeal has yet been formally lodged but Pistorius’s agent Peet van Zyl revealed today his “natural feeling” was that the fight to compete was not over yet, with CAS’s decision considered final and binding.

“We would have to sit down with our legal team in terms of the way forward,” he said.

“I am disappointed, but the natural feeling from our side would be to appeal the verdict.”

The IAAF’s statement today said: “It is evident that an athlete using the ‘Cheetah’ prosthetic is able to run at the same speed as able-bodied athletes, with lower energy consumption.

“Running with prosthetic blades leads to less vertical motion combined with less mechanical work for lifting the body.

“As well as this, the energy loss in the blade is significantly lower than in the human ankle joints in sprinting at maximum speed.

“An athlete using this prosthetic blade has a demonstrable mechanical advantage (more than 30 per cent) when compared to someone not using the blade.”

IAAF communications director Nick Davies insisted that his organisation were left with little choice but to ban Pistorius.

“The IAAF has nothing but the highest respect for Oscar and his achievements, but we have an obligation to ensure that the IAAF rules are not broken,” he said.

Pistorius volunteered to undertake independent scientific tests under the supervision of Professor Peter Bruggemann at the German Sport University of Cologne.

Pistorius agreed with the choice of laboratory and appointment of Bruggemann, acknowledged as one of the foremost experts in the world.

But Van Zyl today appeared to suggest he had spoken to experts who contradicted the Cologne findings. He said: “Based on the feedback that we got, the general feeling was that there were a lot of variables not taken into account.”