Should double-amputee Oscar Pistorius be allowed to run in the Olympics?

[CBC News]

He’s called the Blade Runner.
South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius is a double-amputee runner who wants to compete against able-bodied athletes at this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, but track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, says he can’t.
The argument is that his curved, carbon-fibre prosthetic limbs give him an unfair advantage.
Pistorius’s quest to compete has been well-documented and argued. On Monday's episode of CBC’s Countdown to Beijing, Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey - an Olympic and world champion in the 100-metre - said Pistorius should stay in the Paralympics.
What do you think? Should Oscar Pistorius be allowed to run in the Olympics? Why or why not?


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[Praxius]

No he shouldn't.

I remember watching a bit of this a few weeks ago.

#1 - It is well known that people who have lost limbs have less distance for blood to be pumped and to flow to, therefore allowing more energy to be saved and the heart doesn't have to strain as much in comparison to someone who hasn't lost their limbs.

#2 - The artificial legs he uses are man-made for optimal performance in the sport.... meanwhile players with normal legs are limited by natural design.

On Monday's episode of CBC’s Countdown to Beijing, Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey - an Olympic and world champion in the 100-metre - said Pistorius should stay in the Paralympics.

When asked if he’d ever consider racing against Pistorius, Bailey said “absolutely not.” He went on to argue that Pistorius’s inclusion in Games would make the Olympics a “sideshow.”

I sure wouldn't go as far as calling it a "Sideshow" but once you allow people to enter the Olympics with artificial limbs and enhancements, then you have to regulate what kinds are permitted, what limitations they require, etc. When someone wins who uses these devices, I'll bet you'll have plenty complaining about an unfair advantage and then want things to be tested to make sure it was all fair....... then you have to figure out how to make them on par with human legs, which you can't really compare properly, since you'll have to compare between two athletes (One with legs and one without) and even that wouldn't be accurate, unless you get the same athlete, time his running, then cut his legs off and pop the carbon ones on and compare his new speeds..... and that too is also unlikely.

.... Then where do you go from there?

I do agree that it should remain in the Paralympics. He may seem pretty fast and breaks a lot of records against non-amp. athletes, but what happens when he is pitted up against several racers who have the same devices? I imagine they'd all be around the same level, and all of them would probably beat any regular athlete in the Olympics.

I mean, if the carbon legs are designed to absorb more shock and allow for better energy transfer, then that alone proves they are better then normal legs, since normal legs tend to loose out in energy and become more tired as more shock is produced over time of running.