It all starts in Pretoria, a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa, 1986 - a young man by the name of Oscar Pistorius [wikipedia entry] was born.  As an 11 month old baby he has his legs amputated, but that doesn’t mean he can’t compete in the Olympics.  It is a story of determination and triumph, a story that even Tom Hanks has been rumored to be bidding for the rights to put on the big screen!

Pistorius, also known as the “Blade Runner”, has been a hot topic this past few weeks after the IAAF allowed him to complete in the able-bodied Grand Prix in Sheffield this month.  Should he compete or not compete?

The thing is that, even though his carbon fibre-based limbs are supposed to offer no advantages, they are superior in some aspects, for example, the do not release lactic acid (which would provide a fairly big advantage over a 400m distance).

According to the BBC, and IAAF spokesman has said that the limbs provide a “three to four metre stride”, which is impossible for a human-being.

There is no doubt in my mind that this guy is a brilliant athlete, all you have to do is look at his personal bests and how much better they are compared to similar athletes in his position.

I believe that the limbs are probably more of a hindrance.  The do not seem to provide the same elasticity or an able-bodied person, but then again that is my opinion.

I hope that the IAAF get it together and rewrite the rules clearly on this matter.

I wish him all the best and hopefully he can improve on his personal bests and run well in the Olympics.