Run With The Cheetahs Disadvantage Or Not? [By Abby]

Oscar Pistorius aka Blade Runner

Photo courtesy of FlyingTeachers

Oscar Pistorius was born in 1986 in Johannesburg, Africa, with congenital absence of the fibula in both legs. When he was 11 months old both of his legs were amputated between his knees and ankles because of this. Pistorius quickly learned to walk on prosthetic legs (the ones he uses now are called cheetahs) and in his early years became a very avid athlete in school.

He played rugby, water polo and tennis and in addition to all three sports he took part in Olympic club wrestling. In January 2004 he suffered a very serious rugby injury and was introduced to running.

He hasn't looked back since that day.

He began competing in the 100-400m sprints in the Paralympics. Most of the time winning and breaking world records Pistorius became known as the Blade Runner and "the fastest man with no legs."

One of Pistorius's biggest dreams was to represent Africa and qualify for the (able-bodied) Olympics.

In January 2008 and independent study stated that the use of his prosthetic's gave him an unfair advantage over runners with two whole legs, thus violating an International Amateur Athletics Federation rule that prohibits the use of technical aids.

Just recently on November 6th, 2009 a study found that prosthetic legs do not grant any advantage in sprinting.