Interesting story. I'm suprised the author didn't mention all the hullabaloo about "able-bodied" athletes competing in wheelchair sports. That adds yet another dimention to the debate.

Chalk one up for blistering insight.
Maybe in a perfect world the word "different" wouldn't exist - ey Sherlock?
Maybe in that world they'll hold an "Olympics" for people who state the obvious, have trouble with basic grammar, basic spelling and wherever possible, utilize upper case letters to further make their point.
I know plenty of people who'd be left out because they aren't like that.
Which - oh my goodness - is discrimination!

The entire concept of sporting events is separation and discrimination. Separating those who "achieve" from those who do not. Discriminating (based on "something") against some to declare a Winner. Predator and prey. Night and Day. Shampoo and Conditioner. You and common sense.
All easily separated.

wondered how long it would take you to crawl out from under your rock to attack the sensibilities of the SUPEREGO.

UPPERCASE should be your preference since anything you state is pontificating from on HIGH.

must be those PROZAC or OXCYCONTIN you probably prescribe yourself,when you have some free time from misdiagnosing someone and overbilling the system .

and i didna know i wuz bean graded fer my right in ,there ya wee beastie...now go crawl backin slime before i use ya ta go an fish fer sum real game.

Haraldkann, if you want to make a point, avoid THE ALL CAPS THING. It's a pretty good indicator while reading on the internet that the person who wrote it is a paranoid schizophrenic, or something similar.

Don't believe me? Go look up any of the far out conspiracy theorists webpages. You will find long ranting blocks of text, with all the FACTS such as the "JEWISH CONSPIRACY in league with the REPTILIAN SUPERRACE" in capitals.

Write normally if you want to be taken seriously.

Interesting story, Ian Gregson.

Yes, the way that prosthetics are developing on one axis, and performance-enhancing chemicals and legal devices (e.g. airflow-conscious fabrics) on another, it really does lead to the question of the so-called able bodied and people with disabilities competing in the same events.

I'm not sure what the solution should be, but I would be very interested in watching an "open" event where someone with the FlexFoot (assuming it was competitive) and regular runners went head to head.

Mike B
No doubt you've not been around here for a while. The key to this is reading godsChild(sic)'s post above. It you take the time to go back in the archives and check it out - looking for other examples of similar vituperation, you'll understand that with a bit more clarity.

godsChild(sic) is a 'being' from a somewhat fascist website (where any contrary opinions are immediately dumped and the posters banned) who stops by here on a watching brief in obedience to orders from her master.

The management of this website has a strong commitment to free speech and there are occasional bursts of the kind of ill-feeling you observed above. It's not pleasant but perhaps it is the better way to handle such things. Rolled out from under rocks such creatures frequently find the light of day problematic.

On the other hand, apropos of this story's subject, wouldn't the obvious difficulty be, in the end, that regular runners (meaning those who are not amputees) would also have their performances enhanced by using the flexfoot? Clearly, a better solution would be to reorganize elite athletic competition to permit the Olympics (and other such competitions) as more inclusive gatherings at which all kinds of athletes compete in a variety of venues and classes. The idea of the Para-Olympics(sp?) being a kind of poor relative held separately after the conclusion of the 'real' Olympics is one that should be rejected once and for all.

mike b, you another one of those anal retentive teachers that clog this site flogging their higher morality and better educated than you insecurities.

the internet is an open ongoing work,when people like you quote stupidity,then the rest of us commoners must work harder to make sure change is on the horizon.

rules are meant to be broken and changed,time is not static but dynamic,everything in this world changes as it should for progress to be made.

if these disabled listened to people like you,they would still be crawling around instead of scaring healthy athletes in competition.

then again maybe you still wear robes and a hairshirt.

Interesting viewpoints "G".
"Interesting" in this case meaning "muddled and befuddled".
The poster lamented that discrimination is alive and well. The poster did not observe that discrimination is a basic, valuable survival mechanism. The poster seems unaware of the great value that discrimination has.

As an example and an aside, in the "Gay" Olympics I'm very curious as to how its determined that the participants are gay. In the (oh goodness, what shall I call it...) "NORMAL" (or should I say "regular"... but then the non-"Olympic" Olympics would be populated by "irregular" Olympians wouldn't they?), athletes must participate in trials and preliminaries to determine their qualified. Qualification requires standards. These athletes are also tested for performance enhancing drugs.
Now what on earth do they do in the Gay Olympics? Or the "Special" Olympics? Do the "gay" men get thrown into a room with a copy of Tom of Finland to see if they wince? Do the lesbians have to hand over a documentary? How about the "special" kids? How retarded do you have to be to be considered special?
I'd like to ask what special cranial capacity or sexual proliclivity is required to throw oneself onto a sled and slide down a hill in a rubber suit with a goofy looking helmet on?
Hey - it's an Olympic sport.
I'm old. I get to ask tough, nasty questions.
I'm proud I still ask. Seems to me you do far more telling than asking...

Anyway, I discriminate. I know I do and I'm reasonably conscious of when I'm doing it. I have reasons for not eating moldy bread, for example. Discrimination is good. It's why we look forward to Costa Rica every year - because Costa Rica isn't like everywhere else and we don't want it to be. You might want everything and everyone to be the same all over the world - I don't. Differences accound for marvelous variations in cultures all around the world and neighbourhoods in Vancouver. We discriminate on where we live for heavens sake. How much brain power does it take to figure that out?

I guess you're convinced you know me. You don't of course. You may think there are many types of people all stuggling to be as one. I suggest you're wrong. I think it's many different types of people trying to be themselves. Sometimes it's annoying and stupid frankly (Gay Olympics? Please.), but occasionally it's brilliant (SubGenius). (Thanks to youngest daughter for her introduction! )
You think (oh so laughably) I'm a fascist. You couldn't be more wrong. For example, I believe very deeply in your right to participate in the Special Olympics.

Now go strap on that hockey helmet and slither down a hill!
Good luck champ!

godsChild(sic)
I never said you were a fascist. Unfortunately you can't read, apparently.

You do tend, rather obediently, however, to come when you're called. Interesting, also, and perhaps subliminal, that you're the one who brought up gayness. Are you touchy on that point too?
Seems to me I can recall having heard your opinions on that subject on talk radio quite regularly.

So we're even.
I've never called you Potato Head.
Tell me, does it always take you 3 minutes to look up something else you need to say?
It's a simple Yes or No question.
To me its fascinating that you can't seem to just "summate" and leave it at that. You seem to never say only what needs to be said.. instead choosing to go on and on and on... Perhaps you lack the ability to commit?
That strikes me as an awful handicap on the sandwich line, dithering anxiously (do you hop from foot to foot?) on whether the cheese should be placed first, or the meat... Commit for heavens sake West, commit!

As you can see, we could trundle ever downwards on this nice little lugeing trip you've decided to take or maybe, just maybe, you could step up and say something that doesn't sound like it comes out of the mouth of an dunce hat owner. (ie: an opinion on the article or its contents instead of purging your sphincter
PS: You're an awful insinuator. As in incompetent. Have a backbone and say what you mean. If you dislike gay men, just say so. I've had one serving my dinner and cleaning my house for a while now. K knows very well how I feel on a million subjects. He seems to like cranky, old wealthy women. Maybe it's the fact that I'm strong minded, or maybe he just likes my son!
(Hi Mr Guyot Hall... )

Anyway "G", good luck with the Special Olympics bid, I hope it doesn't interfere with the sandwich line job, and for heavens sake you could do worse than to simply say what you mean and leave it at that. Contrary to what your handler tells you, strong minded men can be useful and productive. Being a bed wetter in your 30's shouldn't dissuade anyone from having resonable thoughts on any number of subjects. Never forget that G.

Be Strong Champ and go chase your dream - but wear a helmet!

godsChild(sic)
Really! Going on and on? Apparently your handicap extends to blindness to your own verbosity - perhaps verbal diarrhea runs in the family – I had no idea that was hereditary.

looking at that picture of oscar pistorius running shows the tenacity of the man,those bindings must hurt like hell when he is running.

no feet and his calves bound with the Flex Foot and he is running competively ?

that's inspirational !

gC : (can`t you change that handle at least?)

There are several meanings to the word discriminate. Obviously it is a valuable survival mechanism when taking it to mean: observe distinctions carefully; have good judgement..whereas the intent of haraldkanns` use of discrimination was of course : make a distinction, esp. unjustly and on the basis of race, age, sex, etc.
There is bit of Kingsley Amis in your writing...are you familiar with Amis?
It really is too bad that you waste your talent on
such personal vitriolic attacks when you could put it to so much better use.
An old Aunt of mine ( peace be upon her) once said " God does not like it when you do not make full use of your talent"
subcomandante bob

Can you quit the personal sniping in this thread and stick to personal opinions of the topic at hand.

Surely the thread deserves more than this....

Well, Godschild, being gay is still a bit of struggle for some, since others do love to discriminate. In other words, I don't know too many people who would fake being gay just to compete in the Gay Games.

I wonder how keen the Paralympians are to compete with the able-bodied. Perhaps they prefer the current system. I couldn't tell from the article.

It's too bad the Olympics have become a competition to see who has the best sports technology.

I did a lot of work with war amputees in a MASH hospital after WW2, as a volunteer orderly, from holding their legs while being amputated, to carrying them around on my back, and helping them with their first steps on primitive artificial legs made of wood joints and leather.

So, I'm happy to see the vast improvements in technology that help such people regaining their self respect and activity potential.

Now, when we talk about competition and competitiveness, here are my two definitions:

"Real competition is the search for excellence under controlled conditions and the neutral protection of life and property"

On the other hand, so called "economic competition" our governments are forcing people to submit to is:

"Crime, war, and monetary competition are the forced acquisition of benefits against the owners' will"

So, why is all this hot air spilled over the fine details of sporting competition between sectors, while economic competition is killing people by the thousands every day, yet it is not only tacitly accepted by society and governments, but legalized and encouraged to do more harm?

Ed Deak, Big Lake.

Good story, but it does gloss over an issue and ignore certain realities.

Should those in wheelchairs be ranked in the same category as those who do not but compete in the New York Marathon? Wheelchairs consistently post the best times.

Perhaps I should be allowed to compete in my giant robotic suit made of gold. The fact that death causing lasers shoot out and hit my competitors, thus ensuring my victory, is a symptom of the suit. Must be allowed.

It's a great suit man. You should see it.

There is grey area.

Was the aforementioned shooter's artificial leg a "support"? Perhaps not, but it certainly doesn't suffer from the same twitch & natural instability that a complete leg does. I'm not quite sure where I would fall on this specific example...it's tough.

One thing's for sure: if non-amputee athletes wanted to start competing in disabled events and became equally competitive, there would be a hue and cry to get them out of the sport.

(Are boys allowed to join Girl Scouts? Girls are certainly allowed to join Boy Scouts. These double standards are persistent, and annoying.)

"these double standards are persistent and annoying".

that statement is what gets me foaming at the bit,i know there is no such thing as a level playing field in anything,but we must try to even things out for all,as much as we can.

this is a world full of inequities...

"if non-amputee athletes wanted to start competing in disabled events and became equally competitive"

I might be wrong, but I think this does occur in some sports like wheelchair basketball. Perhaps it's not allowed in official competition? Anyone care to comment and save me a trip to Google?

a quick read and some interesting points and perspectives, even if the article is over a decade old.

http://www.joeclark.org/theirowntwofeet.html

Stump
Interesting. And something I hadn't really thought much about although I have some vague recollection of hearing a bit of controversy about the subject of able bodies on 'handicapped' teams.

I have a relative who played on Canada's championship women's wheelchair basketball team for several years. I can't imagine that there's any such phoniness at that level and she is so fiercely independent that god help you should offer a helping hand. She's a marginally mobile quadriplegic (has some use of her hands and arms) who drives herself everywhere and she and her husband are raising their little boy, who has, sadly, some autistic symptoms. She's given up the basketball recently and taken up wheelchair racing instead.

I suppose a few able-bodied wheelchair 'athletes' might be acceptable as a means of filling out a recreational team. If that's all it is, who cares? From a competitive point of view - at least in team sports - I can't imagine the idea of permitting 'walkies' would ever be tolerated.

Oh god oh god...please don't refer to Joe Clark of joeclark.org

That guy's so single-minded he makes his Prime Ministerial namesake look like the intellectual equal of Pierre Trudeau!

Interesting discussion though. I do agree with the *goal* or a level playing field, but the way we get there is a perfectly reasonable point of discussion.

There are many "able-bodied" athletes playing wheelchair sports, in fact Canada's womens basketball program would be nowhere near as strong with out the AB's in local teams. However, AB's are not allowed in competition above the provincial level.

There has to be an equity medium for athletes to compete at the same level. A wheelchair is a reasonably good medium to promote equity amongst players. Someone who has spent 10 years in a chair has distinct advantages over someone who uses it for playing a game of basketball 2 hours a week.

A prosthesis is not a suitable equity medium, you either use prosthetic limbs or you don't, you can't strap them on over existing legs and start running on them.

Some of the arguments put forward here are exactly some of the arguments the IOC and IAAF will hear when these athletes start running qualifying times, I've heard the same arguments about including wheelchair marathoners in the Vancouver marathon, "it will open a whole arena of people on rollerblades, bikes and strollers".

If sprinters were really interested in competing on a technically equitable level, maybe everyone should run in bare feet; but what happens if you don't have any feet ?

rockerbiff
I thought there was a Russian innovation, not exactly the same thing as a 'flexfoot' that significantly increased stride length for able-bodied athletes. It's some time ago now and I don't remember all the details. Anyway, I agree with your observations and nobody's going to go back to running in bare feet anytime soon.

Still, how does one find a way (apart from using many footnotes in the record book) to be as inclusive as possible in these areas?

In the end, does it really matter if amputee athletes beat some non-amputees? When the race is over, they still have no feet and that's what they get up to every morning. If a few elite amputees outperform the able-bodied from time to time I just can't see it as a problem. Maybe they'll get some decent endorsement contracts then.

Not to be contrary, but running bare foot is catching on in some circles. Now Nike is offering a shoe called the 'Free' that supposedly mimics barefoot running.

You can't make this sh*t up cuz no one would believe you but sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.

Stump
You're kidding! Trust Nike to find every possible way to suck some more cash out of the public pocket - I'm glad my kids are buying their own shoes now. I stand corrected.

Nike Free is a nice innovation. It's quite different than running barefoot, but allows your foot to achieve the same advantages -- most notably, greater foot strength.

G West: send your kids down to Oppenheimer Park to run around barefoot maybe...that'll teach Nike a lesson. Maybe your kids too.

Don't bemoan Nike its research and development budget, which has produced significant advancements in athletic achievement, just because of that political chip on your shoulder.

Howzabout we bemoan the fact they pay the poor people who make the shoes pennies, but the millionares who were them rack in the big bux?

"wear them"

darcy.mcgee
Kids long past 'sending' anywhere I'm afraid. And Oppenheimer park is on the wrong side of Georgia Strait. I'll check out the shoes for my own running needs the next time I need a pair though. Although, given my general skepticism about Phil Knight's philanthropy I'll have some difficulty actually bringing myself to pay for them.
Thx anyway.

My understanding is that New Balance is the running shoe of choice for guiltless hedonism.