Inspirational Athlete Overcomes Odds

"re-post of September blog entry"
Sports associations are for the first time in history having to make decisions if athletes with technological devices can compete. With a huge improvement in technology, now the technological devices are more efficient than what they are replacing. Oscar Pistorius is a double leg amputee. He was born without a fibula in both of his legs. Both of his legs are replaced with carbon fiber cheetah blades.

Many people believed that Oscar had an unfair advantage with the cheetah blades in track and field events. His sprinting mechanics are not similar to the other runners. The cheetah blades cover more ground and the legs are not subject to fatigue. This is because the athlete uses less energy. In human legs, the runner loses energy in each stride. The cheetah blades also act like a spring with the rate of deflection and release. They are very light which exerts less force on the ground. The cheetah blades spend 34% less time in the air in between strides. It also takes 21% less time to change the position of his legs in between strides. All of these aspects make cheetah blades more efficient than human legs. So people with cheetah blades have to exert less effort than other runners.

Oscar is the current world record holder for a double amputee. It is astonishing to note that his records are only a second away from the last Olympic gold medalist. This topic interested me because I find it amazing that our biomechanical technology has advanced so much that it enables people like Oscar opportunities to live their dreams even though they are disabled. It also inspires me to learn how Oscar is still rigorously pursuing his dreams and not allowing barriers to discourage him. Hopefully we will see Oscar at the 2012 Olympics.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629132200.htm