He was a bit touchy when interviewed by the BBC about whether he thought he might be considered an embarrassment. I thought it was a reasonable question and to add context they had previously said what an inspiration he is.
I admire the fella (here it comes) BUT an able-bodied athlete would not be allowed to enter with carbon-fibre springs attached to his legs. So I feel he should stick to the paras.
Alternatively why not let wheelchair users compete in the main Olympics against able-bodied athletes? You'd never see an able-bodied athlete win the marathon again because the top wheelchair athletes are half an hour quicker (hard to believe but true). So that is why there are separate games.
One problem with the paralympics though is that it can never be a level playing field because the disabilities vary in severity.
there are just so many different races and disciplines in different classes / levels of disability in the paralympics.
Incidentally, Oscar Pistorious got the hump when his suggestion that he be allowed to run any leg in the relay was challenged. He, unfortunately, is fast losing a lot of respect and credibility amongst commentators and is seen as increasingly arrogant. It is patently obvious that his carbon fibre feet would be a serious and major hazard to all other runners. Not as hazardous though as jet powered chariots in the men's marathon.
let wheelchair users race equally against able bodied runners in the marathon - in the Lomdon marathon they are faster!!!! Disabled athletes are impressive in their own right and deserve the upmost admiration - I passed Trafalgar Square today and saw the volleyball and thought it was awsome- they have my utmost respect but if they have to use specialist equipment that nobody else can to compete - the benefit or lack of it can never be truely measured so it is unfair.
Is an able bodied athlete allowed to use similar leg extentions to give them a performance boost? If the answer is no, then he should not be allowed to compete in ranking competitions.
He wont beat Bolt, Gay, Dix or Asafa Powell in the 100 so whats the point? He wont beat Bolt in the 200 so whats the point? He wont even get a medal. He might aswell stay in the paralympics and get the gold every time.
In the relay he everyone will be wiped out by Jamaica anyway. No point anyone else turning up
He wont beat Bolt, Gay, Dix or Asafa Powell in the 100 so whats the point? He wont beat Bolt in the 200 so whats the point? He wont even get a medal. He might aswell stay in the paralympics and get the gold every time. In the relay he everyone will be wiped out by Jamaica anyway. No point anyone else turning up
at the recent world championships the S A 400 m relay team won silver without Pistrorius
As a south African surely he should be opening the bowling for England.
Don't give Andy Flower any more funny ideas please
Looks like I am in the minority here, I am a total admirer of those people who against huge adversity manage to compete and contribute. Unless he sticks a motor up his backside, I am with him all the way.
Is he definately competing in the 2012 Olympics , or is it just speculation that he is competing?
He has to qualify first, from an interview/article about him he has to run below a certain time to get a place in the squad, which he hasn't done yet, but that might be because SA's qualifying hasn't started yet.
We now have a pissed off Pistorious. His Brazilian opponent allegedly had the wrong type of bladed feet and beat him in the 200 Metres. He was allowed to run in the olympics against able bodied athletes in the 400 M. In my opinion this decision was quite ridiculous. Rocket man will be demanding an entry in the 2016 games.
I don't think he's done himself any favours here. It just comes across as sour grapes and even though he's apologised to the winner for the timing of his complaint it still would have taken the shine off of the occasion for the guy who came first.
I have to say his attitude surprises me given the battles he has had to fight over the years to be allowed to compete.
However, being charitable, he must have felt thoroughly pi$$ed off coming second in a race he expected to win and having a microphone shoved under your nose in the immediate aftermath is not easy when you are not a trained diplomat.
I suspect he was speaking instinctively and simply giving vent to his frustration and now wishes he'd kept quiet.
Surely the way the blades work can't be hard to model? It can already be done for feet. I don't understand why no one can do the necessary calculations and end the debate.
I thought it was a great race and was shocked by the interview afterwards. didn't like it, but then like Len Says, no one must fancy being asked difficult questions after losing a big race that the've been training for for years - it was defo heat of the moment, surely he would regret saying something then, that obviously has been on his mind. Frustration of losing must have caused that to come to the forefront of his mind as something to say. Easy for everyone sitting at home on their sofa to criticise him.
Surely the way the blades work can't be hard to model? It can already be done for feet. I don't understand why no one can do the necessary calculations and end the debate.
There are a couple of good articles, one about the 'blade calculation' on the BBC site. We're talking quantum physics here !!
I thought it was a great race and was shocked by the interview afterwards. didn't like it, but then like Len Says, no one must fancy being asked difficult questions after losing a big race that the've been training for for years - it was defo heat of the moment, surely he would regret saying something then, that obviously has been on his mind. Frustration of losing must have caused that to come to the forefront of his mind as something to say. Easy for everyone sitting at home on their sofa to criticise him.
I agree, but he is the poster boy for disability athletics and this defeat will probably mean a huge loss of prestige as well as earnings. As with 'the feet' discussion, David Bond's BBC blog on the matter makes good reading
He can't argue that his springy prosthetics don't give him an advantage against able-bodied athletes and then say that the Brazilian only beat him due to longer limbs. It's obvious that he should be banned from normal competition.
There are rules on how high your legs can be - it seems that the criteria for the Paralympics are slightly different to those for the Olympics. As he wanted to compete in the latter he had to abide by those criteria. Ironically had he not qualified for the Olympics or decided not to compete in them he would have been allowed to have had longer legs and most likely would have won a gold.
There's no point him complaining about the rules when they are pretty clear and when he used them previously to his advantage - perhaps he should have foregone the Olympics and all the money and sponsorship he no doubt trousered on the way and focused on what he was best at?
It can only be viewed as sour grapes. Firstly, runners with one blade and one full limb are disadvantaged - he wasn't complaining that it is unfair to them, secondly the blades his opponent used were within the rules - David Weir went significantly faster in the 5,000 metres in his state of the art wheelchair than Mo Farah did- no problem with that as it is a race against others in wheelchairs not runners - no need to argue than he needs a heavier wheelchair to bring his time in line with Mo's- it is just a fact in some paralympic sports, thirdly, he could have used longer blades if he wanted too, but this would not sit well with his fight to be accepted in non disabled sport as it would lend weight to critics who clain he does get an advantage over able bodied runners and finally, he could run faster than his opponent did anyway, but he didn't even match his own qualifying time which I think would have won him the Gold had he repeated it. So all in all, he has nobody to blame but himself. He believes he is bigger than the Paralympics which can and should never be the case and the authorities should tell him to shut up!
Ironically had he not qualified for the Olympics or decided not to compete in them he would have been allowed to have had longer legs and most likely would have won a gold.
If he had ran what he did in the semi he would have won gold aswell.
Interesting to see that Oscar Pistorius is in the news again today. I wonder if any of the earlier posters on this thread have changed their view on him in the intervening dozen or so years..?
I was one of the volunteers working at the 2012 Olympics and ended up watching the last race he did there. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing but now weird to think about with subsequent events.
As to the man himself well he was a great athlete but ultimately should be remembered (or maybe forgotten) as a murderer and a criminal.
Interesting to see that Oscar Pistorius is in the news again today. I wonder if any of the earlier posters on this thread have changed their view on him in the intervening dozen or so years..?
Presumably everyone, would be weird if they hadn't surely?
Interesting to see that Oscar Pistorius is in the news again today. I wonder if any of the earlier posters on this thread have changed their view on him in the intervening dozen or so years..?
This is a bizarre, bizarre comment. Obviously people would have changed their mind. What is the point of asking that question? Engagement bait?
Comments
there are just so many different races and disciplines in different classes / levels of disability in the paralympics.
Incidentally, Oscar Pistorious got the hump when his suggestion that he be allowed to run any leg in the relay was challenged. He, unfortunately, is fast losing a lot of respect and credibility amongst commentators and is seen as increasingly arrogant. It is patently obvious that his carbon fibre feet would be a serious and major hazard to all other runners. Not as hazardous though as jet powered chariots in the men's marathon.
Is an able bodied athlete allowed to use similar leg extentions to give them a performance boost? If the answer is no, then he should not be allowed to compete in ranking competitions.
He wont beat Bolt in the 200 so whats the point?
He wont even get a medal. He might aswell stay in the paralympics and get the gold every time.
In the relay he everyone will be wiped out by Jamaica anyway. No point anyone else turning up
He has to qualify first, from an interview/article about him he has to run below a certain time to get a place in the squad, which he hasn't done yet, but that might be because SA's qualifying hasn't started yet.
However, being charitable, he must have felt thoroughly pi$$ed off coming second in a race he expected to win and having a microphone shoved under your nose in the immediate aftermath is not easy when you are not a trained diplomat.
I suspect he was speaking instinctively and simply giving vent to his frustration and now wishes he'd kept quiet.
There's no point him complaining about the rules when they are pretty clear and when he used them previously to his advantage - perhaps he should have foregone the Olympics and all the money and sponsorship he no doubt trousered on the way and focused on what he was best at?
Disappointed in him and feel sorry for Oliveira.
As to the man himself well he was a great athlete but ultimately should be remembered (or maybe forgotten) as a murderer and a criminal.
Outrageous! 🤬
Another man who makes me ashamed to be of the same gender.