In 1987, Oscar Pistorius’s legs were amputated midway between ankle and knee. The year before, Pistorius had been born with fibular hemimalia, a congenital disorder resulting in the loss of his calf bones. His parents were forced to make a painful decision between consigning their son to a wheelchair or amputating. After consulting experts, they chose the latter.
Twenty-five years later, Pistorius proudly carried the South African flag at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. He had just made history as the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics, a feat made even more impressive by his chosen sport, sprinting. Pistorius continued his outstanding achievements at the Paralympics later in the summer, setting two world records.
By all accounts a world-class athlete, Pistorius has nevertheless found himself in the middle of a heated debate about the nature of disabled athletes, which is centered around one question: how much of a disabled athlete’s performance can be attributed to their abilities, and how much to prosthetics?
Though prosthetic limbs have existed since ancient Egypt, they were comparatively primitive and awkward until the nineteenth century, and were more decorative than functional. The twetieth century saw an increase in the use of materials such as carbon fibre and advanced plastics to make prosthetics both stronger and lighter, thereby making them more usable.
The design of upper body and lower body prosthetics has recently begun to differ. Upper body prosthetics, such as hands and arms, are becoming increasingly realistic, while lower body prosthetics have been instead designed to maximize efficiency at the cost of the resemblance to a natural leg.
The development of modern prosthetic legs began in 1975 when Ysidro Martinez, an amputee himself, invented a below-the-knee prosthesis that did not attempt to recreate the natural leg with joints in the ankle or foot. Martinez’s considered joints responsible for poor gait, and instead designed a light prosthesis with a centre of mass that facilitated acceleration and reduced friction.
Modern prosthetics limbs follow Martinez’ lead, opting for ergonomical design without regard to appearance. For example, the Flex-Foot Cheetah ‘blade’’ a carbon fibre foot designed for sporting activities, resembles nothing so much as a sleek letter ‘J.’ Pistorius and fellow record blade holders Marlon Shirley and April Holmes used the Cheetah.
Despite these technological advances, problems persist in the Paralympic world. Visibility and media awareness have historically been much lower for the Paralympics than for the Olympics. This year, the London Olympics sold some seven million tickets — several times more than the Paralympics, which sold 2.7 million.
Greg Wells, associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology, sees Pistorius’ place in the Olympics as a sign of the future. “The performance gap is definitely narrowing between Olympians and Paralympians,” he says. “Performances like [Pistorius] only demonstrate this.”
Pistorius himself sees his performance at the Paralympics as ample cause for his being allowed to compete in the Olympics.
“These are not guys who just came off the streets and [strapped] prosthetic legs to them,” he said in a January interview. “They’re guys who sit in the gym and go on the track as much as I do. They’re hard-core athletes, but you don’t see them running remotely the same times.”
