Disabled Athlete Ruled “Ineligible to Compete” in 2008 Olympic Games

Posted January 31, 2008 at 02:00 PM by Megan Hueter

Section: In The News, His Fitness, Injuries & Rehab

On January 14, double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius was ruled “ineligible to compete” at the Beijing Olympics this summer. 

Track and field’s governing body of the IOC and IAAF ruled that the South African runner’s “Cheetah” prosthetic blades give him a technical advantage. Partner site The Final Sprint recently published an article entitled, ”Not the Triumph, but the Struggle” where assistant editor Jimmie Markham exclaimed, “the heartless, elitist IAAF” made a “egregiously discriminatory ruling.”

The article generated some passionate feedback from a few of The Final Sprint’s long-time readers. Jim Fortner of Jim2.net, wrote that “this issue is not a humanistic one. It is a question of fairness in competition and ensuring a level playing field.”

I’d have to agree with both Markham and Fortner. This ruling was heartless and elitist, but it raises the larger question of a level playing field for disabled athletes. Whatever the outcome, Pistorius now has to concentrate on running at the 2012 London Games. Let’s hope this is the last time a disabled athlete is discriminated against at the Olympics, where “The most important thing is not to win but to take part.”