Spring Break
More than earthquakes shake up China as the Olympics approach
Nicole Jacobsen, Associate Sports Editor, njacobse@smu.edu
Issue date: 6/3/08 Section: Sports
Another recent occurrence of science backfiring in athletics is the generations of bloodlines being implemented in horses used in such races as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
After Eight Belles broke both ankles during the Kentucky Derby and was euthanized on sight, PETA and other activists have sparked the newest controversy in sports: this sport is nothing more than a new form of animal cruelty that sends horses racing to the grave.
Science has allowed breeders to keep a prize horse's DNA frozen for up to 20 years, and continually inject it in dozens of follies to ensure a better chance of winning. In retrospect, the blood of previously fallen horses runs through the veins of today's could-be champions.
You can only imagine what the public's response would be if we started practicing the same technique in runners from generations ago.
So where do all these examples lead? Only one event comes to mind that can give even the Super Bowl a run for its money: the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Olympic officials heavily weighed the decision to allow runner Oscar Pistorius, a 21-year-old double-amputee from South Africa, to compete in qualifying rounds for the approaching Olympics. Born without a fibula in either leg, Pistorius had both legs amputated below the knee at the tender age of 11 months. Now, elated that he has the opportunity to represent his country in the 2008 games, Pistorius is being flooded with criticism by analysts arguing to have him barred from qualifying meets.
When Pistorius appealed the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the organization overturned a ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), he learned the track and field's ruling organization banned him from competing against able-bodied athletes on the ground that his prosthetic, carbon fiber blades gave him a "mechanical" advantage. Because of the J-shaped "Cheetah" blades attached mid-thigh, it has been speculated that Pistorius can reach speeds that are virtually impossible for anyone without the blades to achieve. The agreement to let Pistorius race was based on the absence of the IAAF to prove the prosthetic legs gave Pistorius an unfair advantage.
After Eight Belles broke both ankles during the Kentucky Derby and was euthanized on sight, PETA and other activists have sparked the newest controversy in sports: this sport is nothing more than a new form of animal cruelty that sends horses racing to the grave.
Science has allowed breeders to keep a prize horse's DNA frozen for up to 20 years, and continually inject it in dozens of follies to ensure a better chance of winning. In retrospect, the blood of previously fallen horses runs through the veins of today's could-be champions.
You can only imagine what the public's response would be if we started practicing the same technique in runners from generations ago.
So where do all these examples lead? Only one event comes to mind that can give even the Super Bowl a run for its money: the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Olympic officials heavily weighed the decision to allow runner Oscar Pistorius, a 21-year-old double-amputee from South Africa, to compete in qualifying rounds for the approaching Olympics. Born without a fibula in either leg, Pistorius had both legs amputated below the knee at the tender age of 11 months. Now, elated that he has the opportunity to represent his country in the 2008 games, Pistorius is being flooded with criticism by analysts arguing to have him barred from qualifying meets.
When Pistorius appealed the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the organization overturned a ruling by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), he learned the track and field's ruling organization banned him from competing against able-bodied athletes on the ground that his prosthetic, carbon fiber blades gave him a "mechanical" advantage. Because of the J-shaped "Cheetah" blades attached mid-thigh, it has been speculated that Pistorius can reach speeds that are virtually impossible for anyone without the blades to achieve. The agreement to let Pistorius race was based on the absence of the IAAF to prove the prosthetic legs gave Pistorius an unfair advantage.
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Steve
posted 6/03/08 @ 9:37 PM CST
Great job on this story. Very well written and great truth behind it. Thank you for saying what others are afraid to say. Can not wait to read more of your stories, you have great potential. (Continued…)
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