Record breaking paralympian slams the organisers
South African paralympian Oscar Pistorious has criticised the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) after he was beaten in the final of the T44 200m sprint by Alan Oliveira.
South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius, with his unique prosthetics and the results he is achieving, has set off a debate within the sporting community
According to
the Guardian, Pistorious claimed that they "were not running a fair race" as the Brazilian runner Oliveira had longer blades (prosthesis). He claimed that Oliveira's running blades were too long, breaking regulations, and calling for the International Paralympic Committee to investigate.
South African Pistorious was clearly more pissed than victorious when he was beaten by .07 seconds by Oliveira who finished the race in 21.45 seconds.
The IPC immediately denied any wrongdoing had taken place and that all blades had adhered to their strict regulations. "There is a rule in place regarding the length of the blades which is determined by a formula based on the height and dynamics of the athlete. All athletes were measured today prior to competition by a classifier and all were approved for competition," a spokesman told
the BBC.
Pistorius was aiming for his third consecutive title in this event. He won his first title in 2004. Remarkably he had only been running for a year or so at this point, having been forced to give up rugby after he shattered his knee while playing in a school match. He has changed more still since he won it for a second time, in Beijing in 2008.
As reported in
the Telegraph Pistorius secured his place in sporting history this year by becoming the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics. He ended up finishing last in his semi final. He was the subject of a lot of debate as some people felt the carbon blades would give him an advantage in the sprint.
