Oscar Pistorius free to qualify for Olympics on prosthetics

Good news for the cyborgs in the crowd: the ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations that barred double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorious from a shot at the Olympics has been overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Detractors from Oscar's entry into the Olympics have cited a suspect study that says Oscar could be using as little as 25% of the energy of other sprinters, thanks to the mechanical advantage of his "Cheetah" prosthetics, which basically act as springs. Others feared that this could set a dangerous precedent for the entry of bionics into athletic competition, but the ruling was rather tightly worded, and if related cases come up they will be tried individually. Of course, Oscar still has to qualify, and his personal best in the 400 is about a second off the qualifying time for Beijing. Even if he can't make it, he plans try for the world championships and the London Olympics in 2012.

[Zach @ May 17th 2008 3:25PM]

"Good news for the cyborgs in the crowd"

Am I the only one who finds that offensive?

[Matthew @ May 17th 2008 3:29PM]

yeah i wasnt personally offended, having all of my limbs and all, but i could deffinately see where this could offend an amputee.

tisk tisk engadget

[jared @ May 17th 2008 3:29PM]

yes

[maty @ May 17th 2008 3:40PM]

If I was an amputee, I'd be honoured to be called a cyborg, I'd find it quite awesome!

[Saad Rabia @ May 17th 2008 3:45PM]

People, try to take it from a positive point of view, I've never seen Engadget making fun of individuals whatever problems they had. I really think that the word is just really cool, and if I was amputee I would be smiling.

They are all humans after all.

[Itsuru @ May 17th 2008 3:46PM]

Ha great reply Maty.

[ethana2 @ May 17th 2008 3:50PM]

Have to settle for being a gargoyle in the mean time I guess...

[iBSOD for iPhone @ May 17th 2008 4:03PM]

This is so offensive and discriminating. you people have no idea how he wanted to run in the olympics.

No offence but some of you just lack the respect. I am bitterly disappointed, Engadget. Don't look down to him, the whole of South Africa is ashamed.

Oh, by the way, if you Americans know how to spell "offence", it's with a 'c' not a 's'.

[Pochi @ May 17th 2008 4:12PM]

@iBSOD for iPhone

Luckily, when we write to you, all we really need to know how to spell is "stupid asshole."

[substance90 @ May 17th 2008 4:16PM]

I agree, it`s a bit offending.

[n3rd @ May 17th 2008 4:21PM]

as a cyborg, i am deeply and grossly offended

[Jeff @ May 17th 2008 4:24PM]

I think you guys have missed the point of both the statement and the post completely.

This isn't about this one guy being able to compete in the Olympics despite being disabled. This is about opening the door up to mechanical enhancements. We've just gone through years and years of trying to clean up sports from performance-enhancing drugs - now we make it ok for someone to be using performance-enhancing robotics?

Where do you draw the line? Ok, this guy has a clear disability, so he needs these to run. What about a guy with arthritis? That's a chronic disability too. Who is the judge of whether or not that guy's arthritis is bad enough that he actually needs a prosthetic device to run? There is huge potential for abuse here.

What about a guy trying out for the marathon who needs an oxygen tank to run 26 miles? Do you see the slippery slope? Once one guy can use a device, then everybody else is going to want to as well - whether or not they actually need it. They'll find excuses for needing it, and get their doctor to sign off. "Oh, I need oxygen during the race because I have emphysema." "I need robotic legs during the race because I was born without nerves in my legs and can't feel how fast I'm running." etc. etc.

Those are the "cyborgs" Engadget was referring to. Regardless, by definition Oscar is a cyborg too - a cyborg is simply a person who has augmented themselves with mechanical and/or robotic devices. Some would even argue that wearing a wrist watch or glasses makes you a cyborg. I don't see what's so offensive about it.

[Ryan @ May 17th 2008 4:26PM]

"This is so offensive and discriminating. you people have no idea how he wanted to run in the olympics."

What do you mean offensive? Discriminating? No one has said anything to the effect of "Oscar Pistorius shouldn't be allowed to run."

"No offence but some of you just lack the respect. I am bitterly disappointed, Engadget. Don't look down to him, the whole of South Africa is ashamed."

We lack respect? Because we're just glad he can run? What do you expect us to do, bow before him? And why is South Africa ashamed?

"Oh, by the way, if you Americans know how to spell "offence", it's with a 'c' not a 's'."

Spelling differs from country to country. Get over it. I might point out, however, that grammar does not differ as much, and your grammar is horrible. You have a dangling "if" clause that needs closure, and when letters are pronounced with a vowel sound, you put "an" in front of them instead of "a". In the second portion I quote, the last sentence is two separate thoughts and you should either make them separate sentences or replace the comma with a semicolon.

When you learn how to write a proper sentence, I might care about how you spell a certain word the British way. But probably not.

[jman315 @ May 17th 2008 4:56PM]

pwned.

[Darkroom @ May 17th 2008 5:15PM]

i wasn't that offended - i mean, i got both my legs, but this guy could kick the shit out of my fat ass easy! so yay for cyborgs.

[w00t @ May 17th 2008 5:18PM]

Well you know what, I find people who take offence at the tiniest little thing highly offensive!

Until people can accept that not everything they read is going to be written to their exact specifications they should expect to offended often.

Sit back, relax and don't take everything so seriously! Trust me life is much easier this way :)

[Johan S @ May 17th 2008 5:38PM]

Relax people, it was a joke.

There is nothing offensive in the sentence. Cyborg is NOT a derogatory term. I have never heard the word cyborg used to insult anyone. Additionally, there was nothing in the context that showed disrespect towards "cyborgs".

Anyone who thinks engadget meant it as an insult is plain wrong and probably is looking for any issue to get riled up over.

[André @ May 17th 2008 6:06PM]

A cyborg is generally anyone that uses technology to enhance onerself.

Have you ever taken a vitamin pill?

Yes, the cyborg term is widely misunderstood.

Try reading Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto.

[iPriest @ May 17th 2008 6:41PM]

I think most people who find the wording "cyborg" offensive, have already seen this guy in action. I did before reading this article and must admit it could be taken as an offense.

The guy just wants to be like everyone else, so I don't think this guy wants be referred as something different.

But I also think the guy has other things on his mind now than reading engadget.

[marovada @ May 17th 2008 7:12PM]

This is all a bit of a fallacy - the guy has no legs. Some might call that a disability rather than performance enhancing.

[superted @ May 17th 2008 8:50PM]

er....


to me, cyborg means technologically advanced by electronics - an amputee with spring loaded prosthetics is not cyborg, it's just a joke.

with just one leg myself, i find this pretty funny

(but with two legs i consider this a comment that makes you think that you guys are playing up to being over protective of people who want to be treated the same as everyone else.)

[Patrick @ May 18th 2008 1:40AM]

+1 for Jeff... This is definitely a slippery slope and it is ridiculous that they allow this form of artificial enhancement in a completely all-natural competition.

[Tom Oliveri @ May 18th 2008 2:36AM]

no no, that's not offensive... this is offensive!

What's better than winning the paralympics?

Walking

[Andir3.0 @ May 18th 2008 4:12AM]

I was offended by the time you posted. It's unspeakable for someone to post at that time. How dare you! Think of the number "2" and how insignificant you made it feel.

[DP @ May 18th 2008 3:09PM]

What kind of nancies are we living with today? That's not offensive, it's more funny than anything else.

[Tony @ May 19th 2008 10:43AM]

> "Cyborg is NOT a derogatory term. I have never heard the word cyborg used to insult anyone"

Shutup, you god-damn cyborg.

[Bachus @ May 17th 2008 3:29PM]

i, for one, welcome our new olympic cyborg overlords.

[fontendet24 @ May 17th 2008 6:37PM]

These artificial legs you can see in Half Life 2.

[MARSHAK @ May 17th 2008 10:40PM]

Eli Vance in 2008! bringin home gold baby!

[cheng @ May 18th 2008 12:34AM]

uh, eli vance is dead.

[Jaime @ May 19th 2008 8:27PM]

Bachus- excellent timing, well played, made me hunt down that episode

[MaGiXX @ May 17th 2008 3:29PM]

He should have gone with wheels and a miniature jet engine instead of those springs.

[freakguy54321 @ May 17th 2008 7:19PM]

autoblog's slow news days have gone to your head

[idiot @ May 18th 2008 1:04AM]

Don't you know...'cheetahs' never prosper.




...budum pishhh...

[Orpheus @ May 18th 2008 4:54AM]

@idiot

Haha. I'll vote for your awful pun.

[t33kkk @ May 17th 2008 3:29PM]

Theres a asian guy at my school who runs just like this!

[Colin Potter @ May 17th 2008 5:26PM]

theres a white guy at my school who runs just like an asian!

[Jeebus @ May 17th 2008 7:46PM]

Steven Seagal runs just like a girl.

[David @ May 17th 2008 10:56PM]

Bill Gates doesn't run

[rock99rock @ May 19th 2008 12:35PM]

Chuck Norris doesn't need to run.

[Vic the One @ May 19th 2008 3:56PM]

Steve Jobs ran once... then decided it was better to stand still and look like you're running really fast.

[ictiosapiens @ May 17th 2008 3:31PM]

@Zack:

Yes, you probably are. Since when is cyborg a demeaning term???

Hell, half of us geeks would love to be cyborgs... lol

[ethana2 @ May 17th 2008 3:50PM]

Just half?

[r3loaded @ May 17th 2008 4:12PM]

Yes, half of all geeks want to be cyborgs.

The other half want to find girls.

[polvadis @ May 17th 2008 3:35PM]

I agree with Zach that this was poorly written, essentially calling people with prosthetics "cyborgs".

But I also agree that this guy should not be able to compete in the Olympics. Although at his own misfortune, he is using technology to his advantage during the run, and it is my opinion that perhaps during the run while other runners experience fatigue he just might get that extra boost from his spring loaded prosthetics.

[Ryan @ May 17th 2008 4:30PM]

People with prosthetics are cyborgs.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cyborg

Seems pretty plain to me. What's so offensive?

[Bondtastic @ May 18th 2008 9:21AM]

Well I was raised without a father, so technically I am a "b@stard" I am pretty sure if you came up to me, pointed that out, explained your reasoning, and followed it up with "technically it's correct, so what's so offensive"; I would proceed to beat the crap out of you until you were unable to point out your "technical correctness" to anyone else on this planet.

I am sure the millions of kids that have grown up without fathers wouldn't deviate far from path as well.

While something may be "technically correct" there is still a layer of offense that can be taken from the words chosen. Especially if there are other ways to state your case.

I personally don't find cyborg offensive, and don't think Engadget meant it as offensive, but I am sure if you go up to an amputee and say "hi cyborg!" and proceed to spout a technical definition of why you are right, in most cases, you wont get too far before the above scenario may take place.

It's hard enough being human in society without people sub classing and pointing out our differences.

[Jeebus @ May 18th 2008 12:56PM]

"I would proceed to beat the crap out of you"

Damn, you really are a bastard.

[dustandechoes91 @ May 17th 2008 3:38PM]

anyone know his 400 time?

[AndrewNeo @ May 17th 2008 5:05PM]

Go find the qualification time and subtract one from it?