{"id":848,"date":"2011-08-10T17:57:56","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T17:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/thinplaces\/?p=848"},"modified":"2011-08-10T17:57:56","modified_gmt":"2011-08-10T17:57:56","slug":"disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/","title":{"rendered":"Disabled or Uber-Able?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

So here\u2019s the question: should a man who was born without the lower half of his legs be allowed to compete in the World Track and Field Championships?<\/p>\n

According to Juliet Macur of the New York Times (\u201cAs Debate Goes On, Amputee Will Break Barrier<\/a>\u201c) some people think Oscar Pistorius has an advantage because his prosthetic legs are lighter than natural legs:<\/p>\n

In 2008, the International Association of Athletics Federations, track and field\u2019s governing body, thought so. It ruled that Pistorius was ineligible to compete in the worlds because his prosthetic legs made it easier for him to run than competitors with legs made of flesh and bone. But he appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and won in May 2008.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But Aimee Mullins, a fellow runner and double amputee:<\/p>\n

said the notion that Pistorius\u2019s speed came purely from technology verged on comical. She said she did not agree with Weyand and Bundle\u2019s conclusion because although athletes like Pistorius have lighter legs, those legs did not generate nearly as much force as natural legs. So amputees are still at a disadvantage, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they are saying is that if you amputate Michael Johnson\u2019s legs, he would run a 30-second 400 meters,\u201d she said, referring to the event\u2019s world-record holder.<\/p>\n

Mullins, the chef-de-mission for the 2012 United States Paralympic team, said the whole debate over whether Pistorius should compete at worlds or the Olympics in the first place reminded her of people who complained when Jesse Owens competed in the Berlin Games.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So is this a case of discrimination or a legitimate complaint? Is Oscar Pistorius a man with a disability or a man whose prosthetic legs make him more-than-able?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So here\u2019s the question: should a man who was born without the lower half of his legs be allowed to compete in the World Track and Field Championships? According to Juliet Macur of the New York Times (\u201cAs Debate Goes On, Amputee Will Break Barrier\u201c) some people think Oscar Pistorius has an advantage because his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[175,221,223],"class_list":["post-848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disability","tag-aimee-mullins","tag-oscar-pistorius","tag-prosthetic-legs"],"yoast_head":"\nDisabled or Uber-Able? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So here's the question: should a man who was born without the lower half of his legs be allowed to compete in the World Track and Field Championships?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disabled or Uber-Able? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So here's the question: should a man who was born without the lower half of his legs be allowed to compete in the World Track and Field Championships?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-10T17:57:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Julia Becker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/\",\"name\":\"Disabled or Uber-Able? - Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-10T17:57:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-10T17:57:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\"},\"description\":\"So here's the question: should a man who was born without the lower half of his legs be allowed to compete in the World Track and Field Championships?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/2011\/08\/disabled-or-uber-able-oscar-pisterius\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Disabled or Uber-Able?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/\",\"name\":\"Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability\",\"description\":\"With Amy Julia Becker\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/b3e8f59d6533ab89f516e8d9631c6e63\",\"name\":\"Amy Julia Becker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thinplaces\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3adc0aada8a192b3c12b962d57c5accd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amy Julia Becker\"},\"description\":\"Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. 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