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.
posted May 17th 2008 3:15PM
"Good news for the cyborgs in the crowd"
Am I the only one who finds that offensive?
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
yes
If I was an amputee, I'd be honoured to be called a cyborg, I'd find it quite awesome!
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.
Ha great reply Maty.
Have to settle for being a gargoyle in the mean time I guess...
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'.
@iBSOD for iPhone
Luckily, when we write to you, all we really need to know how to spell is "stupid asshole."
I agree, it`s a bit offending.
as a cyborg, i am deeply and grossly offended
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.
"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.
pwned.
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.
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
This is all a bit of a fallacy - the guy has no legs. Some might call that a disability rather than performance enhancing.
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.)
+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.
no no, that's not offensive... this is offensive!
What's better than winning the paralympics?
Walking
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.
What kind of nancies are we living with today? That's not offensive, it's more funny than anything else.
> "Cyborg is NOT a derogatory term. I have never heard the word cyborg used to insult anyone"
Shutup, you god-damn cyborg.
i, for one, welcome our new olympic cyborg overlords.
These artificial legs you can see in Half Life 2.
Eli Vance in 2008! bringin home gold baby!
uh, eli vance is dead.
Bachus- excellent timing, well played, made me hunt down that episode
He should have gone with wheels and a miniature jet engine instead of those springs.
autoblog's slow news days have gone to your head
Don't you know...'cheetahs' never prosper.
...budum pishhh...
@idiot
Haha. I'll vote for your awful pun.
Theres a asian guy at my school who runs just like this!
theres a white guy at my school who runs just like an asian!
Steven Seagal runs just like a girl.
Bill Gates doesn't run
Chuck Norris doesn't need to run.
Steve Jobs ran once... then decided it was better to stand still and look like you're running really fast.
@Zack:
Yes, you probably are. Since when is cyborg a demeaning term???
Hell, half of us geeks would love to be cyborgs... lol
Just half?
Yes, half of all geeks want to be cyborgs.
The other half want to find girls.
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.
People with prosthetics are cyborgs.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cyborg
Seems pretty plain to me. What's so offensive?
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.
"I would proceed to beat the crap out of you"
Damn, you really are a bastard.
anyone know his 400 time?
Go find the qualification time and subtract one from it?
Actually you would add 1 to it...
espn.com said it was 46.6 if memory serves, and the qualifying time is 45.55 O.O
even with prosthetics, he's about 10 seconds faster than my best 400 time, and i've got both my legs
-not trying to sound offensive-
if he is handicapped, then why doesn't he try out for the special olympics?
his prosthetics gives him an unfair advantage over normal sprinters!
The Special Olympics are for people with mental disabilities. I think you mean the Paralympics
Paralympics have nowhere near the glory and recognition associated with them as the Olympics do.
"Paralympics have nowhere near the glory and recognition associated with them as the Olympics do."
I thought the Olympics were about participating.
He does compete in the Paralympics.
The problem is he pwns EVERYONE by like 30 meters by the end of the race.
He's freakn' fast man. It's truly awesome to see.
If this is a sign of the times and now paralympians are getting as good or even better than able bodied people... hell, we might as well all watch the paralympics from now on.
or is it Cyborlympics??
I thought the olympics were recognised as being an arena for drug cheats to see how fast/high/long they can go compared to the average person.
thats great for him. I don't see how he as an advantage with these different prosthetic legs. It's just like normal legs or less. He's been trying hard and he deserves it
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--12492-0,00.html
@dustandechoes91:
his personal best is in the mid 46's
@jak0B:
you mean the paralympics
I feel so happy! :) I was really hoping that the International Association of Athletics Federations would consider him as a normal human being; a little bit of rules on the side would not ruin the competition.
I can't feel happier, it's like seeing your little children or brother growing up full of hope! :)
Hey buddy, I was hoping about having a chat with ya.. This is my IM/Mail - ameen.in@gmail.com
P.S: Ur second name is one of female friends' first name ;)..
Hey buddy, I was hoping about having a chat with ya.. This is my IM/Mail - ameen.in@gmail.com
P.S: Ur second name is one of female friends' first name ;)..
I wonder which runner - fully-limbed runner - will be the first to show up with "specially-made" Nikes that...you know...extend his leg length and just happen to have spring steel for ...you know...soles...and say "Hey! Precedent has been set!".
...you know...
I don't believe the use of those blades are any more of an advantage than using a pair of quality shoes, both of which have gone under intense R&D.
His use of prosthetic legs doesn't enable him to push any less than a fellow athlete; speed is dependent on cardiac ability and physical longevity. His leg muscles have to push just as hard as anyone else.
Kudos to the IAAF for making what I believe to be the right decision.
not really.
he is using 1/2 of the muscles in his leg with these. The doesnt use his calves, or his feet. So he is using far less energy with these legs. A shoe does not replace muscle power, it increases traction.
this guy's legs are like a loaded spring, all he has to do is lean forward and let the springs do the work. sure he has to do some work, but not like the amount of work a fully limbed person would do.
When he steps on teh springs, the springs are STORING energy, he has a drastically higher amount of energy stored in his legs than a legful athlete.
they should have done more studies.
have you ever done any sort of running in your life? sprinting speed is not dependent on cardiac ability. It depends on fast-twitch muscles in your legs, and the fact that Mr. Pistorius has these blades instead of calf muscles and shins means that he does not feel lactic acid in these areas that could cause the feeling of "burning" while sprinting.
"His leg muscles have to push just as hard as anyone else."
This is untrue because he does not have to use his calf muscles since they are replaced with his Cheetah prothetics. Thus he only has to use his upper legs whereas other athletes have to use their calves and other parts of their lower legs.
Besides, the Olympics aren't a "right." Just because this guy was fast once, had an accident or whatever, doesn't mean he should get to run in them because his situation is what it is now. The precedence is so dangerous, they have no idea what doors this is opening up.
I totally agree with earlier posts, hey I wasn't born fast, but they can make me fast with these, or I was fast, got my foot smashed, and look what I can do now. Why is it so wrong that we celebrate the best of the best athletics-wise? Sorry you lost your lower legs guys, but you don't have a right to compete in the Olympics.
You guys make good points. However, I still continue to believe that unless it can be shown that these blades provide an unfair advantage, he should have the chance to compete in the Olympics. I'd be the first to cry foul if they were proven to be unfair.
I'm sure this decision was not made without considering all of these points and I'm positive more tests will be run.
And for the record, I do run on a regular basis. Mizuno, FTW!
but human legs return more energy than his artificial ones, he use 25% less energy but his prosthetics return only 80% energy, while real return over 400% energy, from what i recall on news page i read a few days ago; PLUS he hasntqualified yet so why is everyone giving him hard time?
good luck oscar!!!
the whole of SA and I support you all the way :)
Nice picture.
He did run in the paralymipcs but he's just too fast for them.
Here's a graphic that compares the two. it basically is completely difficult for him to get off the starting blocks and then he has to take longer to get into stride. and no one has been able to prove the cheetahs make him faster. so until they do, I for one can't wait to see him keep running.
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/sports/20070514_RUNNER_GRAPHIC.html
I'm sure this guy trains hard and is a real good athlete, but the fact is that it is unfair to have him compete in the Olympics.
Time (and research) will tell if these proteses are an advantage (because of them working like springs) or a disadvantadge (because the muscles in the upper leg have to do all the work), but either way the fact remains that either this guy or the other athletes start of with an advantadge.
I really wish this guy all the best and appreciate his hard work and his fight for what he sees as fair play, but I just don't think that makes up for the fact that it is unfair.
Sorry for him but they should not have him compete.
Just my 2 cents.
My thinking is if sprinters WANT to chop off their legs to give them an advantage, by all means. Otherwise, let the guy run.
I think he should be allowed to compete but should be required to use prostethics that give him no advantage at all i dont know if that is possible but if it is that is what should happen
Anybody else think about Chell from Portal upon first seeing the image?
That's the first thing I thought of! Then I thought of Eli Vance from HL2...
Wow good to know that winning a Gold in an Olympic event will be essentially worthless now, they keep lowering the bar, pretty soon the US will get Gold in Fat People shuffle events
Next thing we'll see is athletes signing up to have limbs removed in favor of energy-saving prosthetics. Then the world of the most physically fit will turn to, as usual, the robot over lords.
I for one welcome our gold-medal-winning cyborg overlords!
Please. He still has to use his own energy to power himself.
Are they probably a little more efficient than normal feet? Perhaps, but at the end of the day it's a sprint event and IS at a disadvantage in the start because there's no initial forward force.
His springs have two positions: sprung and unsprung, he can't maintain a "ready" position in them without CONSIDERABLE straight. His legs can't "explode" like a muscle can.
Is it a big disadvantage? No.
The time demonstration interest me. I too thought the spring absorb and release factor of the artifical legs would be totaly unbalancing.. however that would be if you were using the artifical legs do most of the power.
However, an an Olympic runner would be able to clarify this, but the amount of power these guys release on the push is around %200. If anything, the cheetah legs would actually be a hinderence because while you are trying to push away (with less muscle then you would with a full legs I might add) you could end up channeling more energy into the springs that you would much rather want sent to the pavement. When you cease preasure at the end of the push stage, the spring will begin releasing its energy but much of it will be lost due to the angle and foward momentum. This could be why the guy is having a problem with qualifying times.
However my guess is what the guy lacks in musicle, he can make up for it in energy use. It does say his hip muscles need to make up for alot of slack, but his body is no longer powering 1/3rd of his leg. That could boost his stamina in a favorable way.
lol... sorry, I just found that "musicle" thing funny!
@ryan you are right the by that definition he is a cyborg.
I would wonder does the fact that he doesn't have lower legs lighten him which means he carries less weight?
If he can get away with this they may get crazy people to cut pieces of their bodies off to gain advantages. Do what you must to win.
I don't understand these prosthetics but I would also wonder if they are spring loaded the recoil would add extra power and if they are named "cheetah" I would suspect they are. Or is it cheater
I'm not certain letting people with manufactured abilities compete against the unadorned is a good idea in sports, but I think it's great he can have the pleasure of feeling the thrill of running at a full gait!
Did it ever occur to this guy that maybe people who don't have legs aren't supposed to run in the olympics? There are plenty of honorable and important things he could be doing with his time that aren't so ridiculous.
Amazing Picture!
Its great that he is allowed to compete in the Olympics, but it opens the Olympic Games up to a lot of abuse....
What if those prosthetics were 10cm longer? Or just the right length to give the perfect speed / power ratio?
And like the Article mentioned he has 20% or so less mass below the knees which can only be an advantage...
Anyway it will be an interesting race :)
I think they should make prosthetics based on how fast you were before being an amputee then you'd have a basis to compare if it was a fair advantage or not.
But that's just my opinion.
This opens the door to the Olympics for pirates (with peglegs). I say YARRRR!
Regardless of whether he is at an advantage or not, your arguments about him having to to use different muscles more make it seem like something that is completely different from running. Even if you ignore the times, how can you compare the two? If someone unicycled as fast as someone else could run backwards, could you have a legitimate race?
fucking cyborgs
dunno about you guys, I've always wanted to be an olympic athlete but don't have the build for it, now I can simply get my legs replaced with super-cyborg million-dollar-man tech and I'm hot for the gold!
@Paul,
if he has so much trouble even reaching qualifying times (and it's not certain if he even will in time for Beijing) I guess the "enhancemenet" legs he has arent's that enhancing as you might think.... I'd keep my legs if I were you!
Everyone keeps referring to these legs as "enhancements". They are not: if they were an enhancement they would work BETTER than normal legs, and I'm quite sure they don't. If they did, Pistorious would run circles around normo-abled athelets, and not just struggle to qualify.
My fiancee is an amputee (right leg) and is a world class para-athlete in long jump. In competitions she uses an uber-cool prosthetis like Pistorius (a similar model actually, made from the same company). I've been to a few of her competiotions against other para-athletes and I've also seen her participate in "normal" events (whatever normal means): anyone who has seen a para-event can clearly see that these kind of prosthetics help REDUCE the disadvantage, but they are not thye same as having a real leg, and they definately do NOT give an advantage against people who have both.
That said, check out when a para-event is being held near your city and go see it. Tke your kids too. The spirit, tenacity, and professionalism being shown by these athletes is amazing.... and the technology is pretty cool too (although - as someone elase said - it's a bit of an excess to call them cyborgs).
Andrea
Why not just add some weight to the guy's legs so there isn't an advantage anymore?
I personally don't think he should be able to run in the Olympics, just as a wheelchair athlete would not be allowed to compete in a able bodied marathon than he or she would win. This is not two belittle what he does, just to say that it is inherently different.
If he is able to compete then why can't other athletes strap similar devices to their feet in order to improve performance.
Just because his times are similar doesn't mean that what he is doing is the same.
He has a very cool name though :)
If they're going to allow any sort of artificial doodads in the Olympics, I figure I'll just show up on my CBR600RR. See, my leg kinda itches, so I need it to, um, run.