Pistorius - it's not fair, but let him compete

Do Pistorius' prosthesus give him an unnatural advantage over other athletes? Of course they do. Should he be banned from competing? Well, how would a field feel about his competing? I would suggest that he be allowed to compete, in the spirit of Sportsmanship, but in the case where he reaches the top 3 (and wins a medal), the 4th placed finisher be given a medal as well. In other words, Pistorius' participation ought to enhance and add to competitive nature of the sport, rather than prevent one other person from gaining glory.

Some athletes may not be happy with the distraction and complications involved, especially where a limited number of slots are available for a final. They would be completely justified, especially at high level events, from requesting that Pistorius stand down to allow them their place. I don't believe a blanket concession or ban is the answer. I think his competitors need to participate in the decision. This requires fairly high levels of administration, which brings us to the question: do we care enough about the individual athlete to want to put a lot of people through this? I hope we do. Consultation will have to be on a race-by-race basis. I'm not sure how many athletics bodies will be chuffed about the extra rigmarole involved in that.

Obviously it is inspiring to see a disabled athlete aspire to excel, but let's not kid ourselves that everyone is on the same playing field.

I did think about an analogy to Pistorius' carbon fibre blades, and there are many. There is the technology used in cycling timetrials and triathlons. But here everyone is free to experiment with materials. There is a big difference, for example, in a swimmer's performance when wearing a triathlon wetsuit and without. So, if I was doing a triathlon, and no one was allowed to wear a wetsuit in the swim leg, but an exception was made for a disabled athlete, would that bother me? No, I'd welcome the enthusiasm and guts, I'd welcome the participation aspect, but I'd feel differently if this guy kept winning.

Once again, I don't think these athletes should be banned. I think they should be allowed to measure themselves against able-bodied athletes, and I think this may be exciting to see. But when they achieve podium positions, an extra medal should be made available, rather than having a disabled athlete knock out some other competitor.

I believe allowing these athletes their place in sport inspires more than it detracts from the sport, and its constituents, and this ought to be the goal. Whatever happens, we're due to hear an answer soon.

Sport's Tribunal To Rule On Amputee Sprinter Oscar Pistorius' Petition In Two Weeks

“The pollution in China is a threat to my health" - Haile Gebrselassie

ADDIS ABABA — Marathon world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie said yesterday he would not compete in the Olympic marathon because of fears that Beijing’s air pollution would damage his health.

The Ethiopian runner, who suffers from asthma, said he would still compete in the shorter 10000m event in the August Games.
“The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km in my current condition,” he said in an interview yesterday.
“But I am not pulling out of the Olympic event in Beijing all together. I plan to participate in the 10000m event,” he said.

Pollution is a major issue facing Beijing in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

Rest of Reuters story here.

Spielberg China snub seen setting trend (REUTERS)

NVDL: I was running on the treadmill in the gym when I saw this story on the runscreen. I'd seen it on a TV at a quick stop as I was paying. I couldn't hear any sound but the images were rivetting. SKY had an animation showing maps of Sudan and China. Oil flowed in a giant arcing black arrow to China, and a jew (tagged: weapons) flowed back in the opposite direction, in a giant black arc. Shortly after that they showed a British athlete who was boycotting China. Then a previous photo op with Spielberg surrounded by Chinese officials, many of them in military uniform.

Spielberg has apparently said: My conscience does not allow me to continue [working on the Olympics.]

Other actors such as Mia Farrow, George Clooney and Matt Damon are actively protesting the slaughter in Darfur. China's infiltration of Africa is going to come increasingly under the spotlight, particularly their ignorance of politically motivated and genocidal atrocities (something quite common in Africa).

The Beijing Olympics may turn out to be the most controversial, perhaps the most boycotted games as anti-China sentiments and other tensions mount. Pity the athletes.

LONDON (Reuters) - China can expect more outbursts by celebrities and athletes angry at its perceived support for Sudan but opinion is divided over whether such action ahead of the Beijing Olympics will have any impact on Chinese policy.

Campaigners say the withdrawal of film director Steven Spielberg as artistic adviser to the Games in August is a sign of things to come for the Chinese organisers.

"The Olympics is China's debutante ball -- their chance to announce themselves on the international stage," said Save Darfur spokesman Allyn Brooks-LaSure.

"If things in Darfur don't change, it is going to get more high profile, more embarrassing, more lonely."

By Peter Apps
More.

Roxanne: Olympic Ambitions (PART 1)

Something is wrong. The swimmer in the lane next to me is kicking my butt badly. I am swimming freestyle and she – yes, a sweet doll of a girl - is keeping pace with me, and she’s just kicking. I check under water for fins. No fins. I catch my breath. A naughty smile betrays that a lot is happening inside the pretty head of Roxanne Meyer. By Nick van der Leek

I find out post workout that this 2 hour, 6km swim turns out to be a par for the course workout, and the second of the day. She trains like this every day, Sundays too, and she is not only one of the best swimmers in the country, but has made a World Cup final. Anything else? Yes, didn’t you know it’s the year 2008, which means the Beijing Olympics are in August, and training for all the Olympic hopefuls is about to get even harder. Alrighty then.

Okay, so the girl can swim a bit, she’s a lot attractive. That’s the whole story, right? Well, not quite…

NVDL: Have you heard the song ‘Roxanne’.
Rox: [Smiles] Yes.
NVDL: And? Do you like it?
Rox: Well I heard it in Moulon Rouge and I loved that movie, so yes.
NVDL: [Forming a pun] Is Roxanne in Moulon Rouge?
Rox: Yes.
NVDL: [Smiles] Really?
Rox: Yes, and it was definitely in one of the best scenes in Moulon Rouge.

NVDL: Ok. Obvious question: Do you know Ryk and Roeland well?
Rox: I know Roeland better, because he comes to swim all the galas in South Africa, and at the after parties we chat.
NVDL: How are they different?
Rox: I think Ryk is very focused, he’s more serious; Roeland’s more relaxed.
NVDL: What about Ryk’s sister Jean Marie?
Rox: I don’t really know her at all. I haven’t spoken to her. I’ve seen her swim and she’s very talented.
NVDL: Do you think she’ll make this year’s Olympics?
Rox: I really have no idea. She didn’t race in many of the galas this year because she wrote matric, and now she’s gone to America to swim. So I don’t know what kind of shape she’s in.

NVDL: Okay so we’re talking about the likes of Ryk and Roeland, people probably want to know: ‘What have you achieved’?
Rox: Well should I start at the beginning?
NVDL: Is it such a long story?
Rox: [Laughs] Yes.
NVDL: Ok well, how old are you now? 19?
Rox: Yes
NVDL: And it’s a long story?
Rox: 9 years.
NVDL: Jeepers. Is it that long? So you started achieving when you were 10?
Rox: 11.
NVDL: And when did you start swimming?
Rox: When I was 8.
NVDL: So how did you start?
Rox: I started when my dad was transferred to Kimberely. It was very hot there and we didn’t have a pool, so we went to the public pool. A lady there – Amanda Greenan – encouraged me to swim. And then I saw people training and then I started. There was an old guy there who said I was quite talented.
NVDL: So you saw people training in a pool and you just started training with them?
Rox: Yes. I started swimming because there was a club there.
NVDL: Fair enough.
Rox: And then I made Griqualand West at the age of 8 or whatever.
NVDL: In your first year?
Rox: Yes.
NVDL: So you’re 8 years old, you’ve made Griqualand West, then what?
Rox: I moved to Joburg when I was 10 or 11 and started swimming with Vivienne Kukard in Krugersdorp. At that stage we trained very hard. We did so much mileage. I think what also helped me is we did lots of sprint work. Everything was very hard, and sets were on specific times. I was very young and I got very thin very quickly. And so when I was 11 I broke the South African records in the 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke by a couple of seconds. I broke CGA records in other things like 200m IM and whatever…
NVDL: K.
Rox: But from the beginning it was backstroke, and I qualified for senior nationals in the backstroke at the age of 11. I’m still the youngest ever swimmer to have done that in South Africa.

Doesn't this picture below look a lot like Natalie Portman?