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| 'The fastest man on no feet' |
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The Bionic Woman is a new television show that will debut this fall. The concept is that a woman injured in a terrible accident is rebuilt with bionic parts so that physically she is both faster and stronger than is humanly possible.
This is not a new concept for a television show. The first of these shows that I can remember was the Six Million Dollar Man, which ran during the early 70's and was about a pilot who, you guessed it, was terribly injured in a plane crash and was rebuilt better than before.
The difference in these shows is that when the Six Million Dollar Man ran it was science fiction that everyone knew was not even remotely possible, but now with advancements in technology we actually do build bionic legs and arms for amputees. As the technology has developed soldiers who have had both legs amputated are not only walking again, but some of them are beginning to run. And that is what makes this a sports story.
Oscar Pistorius is a South African national who was born with no fibulas, the long thin bone that forms the outside of the ankle, and anchors the calf muscle, in his lower legs. As an infant both legs were amputated below the knees, so unlike soldiers who try to relearn to both walk and run as adults Pistorius has always walked, and run on artificial legs. In the last couple of years he has begun to run with a degree of speed that was never possible with artificial limbs in the past. He has set Para-Olympics world records in the 100, 200, and 400, and has now begun running head-to-head with non-handicapped athletes with the goal of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
This is a laudable goal, but the International Amateur Athletic Federation and their rules have at least temporarily derailed Oscar in his quest for track and field immortality. The IAAF is concerned that Pistorius may be gaining a competitive advantage from his bionic lower legs, and have suspended him from competition pending study of film they took during a recent competition in Rome.
This is a complex issue, and not one that should be taken lightly. On the one hand we should celebrate the courage and skill of a handicapped athlete competing with able-bodied athletes. On the other hand as technology improves do we really want the athlete who can afford to buy the most expensive and high tech pair of legs, feet, or perhaps even shoes winning purely because of technology?
We know for certain that Pistorius, as well as all other athletes who attempt to run on bionic limbs, have several disadvantages over able-bodied athletes. He has difficulty coming out of the blocks and has balance issues that make it hard for him to corner, and require him to constantly be watching his feet. Weather seems to cause him major problems. Early this summer he finished last in a race on a wet track and ran well below his season best. He also has to deal with lower back pain and pain in the soft tissue around his knee joint from the friction between it and his artificial lower leg. It also appears that Pistorius may have several advantages.
First his artificial feet store energy as they compress when they hit the ground, and then passively release the energy propelling him forward. The human foot and ankle also stores energy, but it must actively propel itself forward, and returns only about 15 percent of the stored energy compared to as high as 80 percent with Pistorius' bionic limbs.
Second it appears that he has a longer stride length than normal for his height. This does not appear to be caused by extra long artificial limbs, but rather by the bounce generated by the limb. As evidence of this single leg, amputees must run with an artificial limb shorter than their natural leg to keep from rocking back and forth severely as the stride pattern of their leg and the bionic leg do not match.
Finally Pistorius is moving less mass. Anyone with a basic knowledge of physics understands that if you can generate equal force with less mass you can move faster. The average sprinter has about 12 pounds of weight in each leg below the knee, while Pitsorius' carbon-fiber legs weigh only about three pounds each. This appears to be a significant advantage as Pistorius is running much faster at the end of races than even runners that are running races a full second faster than him. Their performance appears to drop off much more dramatically with fatigue.
Human rights advocates have taken the side of Pistorius and are claiming discrimination in the actions of the IAAF, and are demanding that he be allowed to run.
Scientists have mostly sided with the IAAF. Both sides have some merit to their cases. Currently we do not allow wheelchair athletes to compete head to head with able-bodied athletes. When people first began competing in wheelchairs they were unable to keep up, but now, other than 100 meters, wheelchair athletes would dominate able-bodied athletes largely because of technology.
It is unclear whether technology concerning bionics has advanced to this level, but the IAAF is concerned that this may soon be the case if it is not already. Their actions are intended to try to keep a level playing field for all athletes.
One of the first stories I covered as a sports reporter this summer was the Smith Rock 15k-road race. The winner of the race was a wheelchair athlete who won by almost 15 minutes over the first runner. It is the intent of the organizers of the race to expand the handicapped athlete portion of the event to include bionics next year. I think that this is a good thing. We should provide opportunity for all athletes, handicapped or not, to be able to compete, and I absolutely applaud the courage and hard work necessary to be able to overcome obstacles and still compete. Handicapped athletes can be a tremendous source of inspiration, and I admire them greatly. They should have their day.
This is especially true of Pistorius. He has worked long and hard to get to where he is. I admire what he has accomplished. He is a great athlete and has already overcome significant odds. He should be allowed to compete, but only on a level playing field. Right now it is unclear if his recent significant improvement in times is due to improved training techniques or improved technology. Let him compete, but let's look at the science carefully and limit the technology so he may compete equally, but not with an advantage.
If you wish to read more about this subject there is an interesting article published on the Web at http://scienceofsport.blogspot.com
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