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Give Pistorius The Benefit Of The Doubt

AP Photo

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius gives the thumb-up sign after a press conference in Milan, Italy, Friday, May 16, 2008, after he won his appeal to obtain the right to compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 17, 2008

Updated: 05/17/2008 12:12 am

TAMPA - This dream has legs.

In a decision sure to spur debate, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, a double lower-leg amputee who runs 400-meter races on carbon-fiber blades, has won the right to compete for a spot in the Beijing Olympics.

My heart says go get 'em, kid.

My head says let's take it slow.

I have a hard time believing anyone born without fibulas, and who later has both legs amputated below the knee, possesses an "unfair" advantage over anyone.

Let's see how many kids line up for that procedure in pursuit of Olympic glory.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport agrees. It overturned a ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federation that banned Pistorius from competing against able-bodied athletes.

The "Blade Runner" is back.

Welcome to a brave new world.

Where there are no easy answers.

Raises Questions Of Fairness

The arbiters ruled that track and field's governing body didn't produce enough evidence to show Pistorius' edge in having, well, springs for legs.

Now he can race for the Olympics and try to grab a spot on South Africa's 1,600-meter relay.

But all this technology raises legitimate questions about what's fair and unfair.

Mind you, this is different from the case of Casey Martin, a golfer with a leg disease who went all the way to the United States Supreme Court and won the right to drive a cart during PGA events.

It was a stretch when the PGA argued that Martin's cart gave him an unfair advantage.

This is different.

And you're not being insensitive to Pistorius and his courage by wondering if he should be allowed in the Olympics.

The IAAF put Pistorius through testing before deciding to ban him after ruling Pistorius' carbon-fiber legs give him a longer stride and let him use less energy and oxygen than an able-bodied athlete would.

But where does technology end and someone's heart begin?

How do you distinguish between spirit and science?

Pistorius holds Paralympics world records. He's an inspiration.

I'll never look at him as a cheater like all those scalawags like Marion Jones, who used performance-enhancing drugs en route to gold medals.

But this is still a question of whether those blades constitute, well, cheating.

Where do we draw the line?

We go case by case.

Such is the price of progress.

Would Be Good For Games

In this case, I'm willing to pay that price.

The Games of Beijing are shaping up as an Olympics without a soul.

Did you know China once stopped one of its top disabled athletes from competing internationally because the double amputee had lost his legs under a tank in Tiananmen Square, and China was afraid he'd speak to the world?

Ah, Olympic spirit.

The Olympics could use Oscar Pistorius.

And did you know that another South African, a single amputee named Natalie Du Toit, has already qualified for these Olympics in the open-water swimming event? True, she removed her prosthetic leg before swimming.

You can't measure human spirit.

With or without springs.

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