Althouse: "Are they discriminating... for fear that if the person who doesn’t have the perfect body wins, what does that say about the image of man?"

May 15, 2007

"Are they discriminating... for fear that if the person who doesn’t have the perfect body wins, what does that say about the image of man?"

Or are they discriminating because his prosthetic legs are giant bionic springs?

9 comments:

Roost on the Moon said...: Exactly. It's impressive, amazing even, and the young man deserves his accolades. But he'll only win until someone comes along with longer J blades or a go-cart trunk. What he is doing is different. Still, you'd hate to see him excluded from all sports that he can't dominate...; 5/15/07, 7:36 AM
Unknown said...: Wheelchair atheletes are already prevented from competing alongside runners in a marathon. That case seems more clear cut. I'm personally inclined to err on that side of the equation for the Olympics.; 5/15/07, 7:45 AM
Bissage said...: They should compromise and let him compete in the men’s downhill.; 5/15/07, 7:57 AM
Zach said...: According to Gailey, a prosthetic leg returns only about 80 percent of the energy absorbed in each stride, while a natural leg returns up to 240 percent, providing much more spring.

The reporter obviously made a mistake here. (Does the NYT have editors?) You can't get more energy out of a spring than you put in. So the 240 percent has to include some muscular work. What I would like to see is some figure on the innate springiness of the foot -- if the muscles did no work, how much energy would be regained coming out of the stride?; 5/15/07, 8:58 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Zach: Yeah, and I think it's also deceptive that he was talking about "a prosthetic leg," like the generic prosthetic leg, and not those unusual springy paddles this elite athete has.; 5/15/07, 10:10 AM
Roost on the Moon said...: In fairness to the reporter, it wasn't his mistake. the 80%/240% thing was ridiculous, but the reporter is relaying that someone said it, not asserting its truth. ("According to Gailey...")

And deceptive? There is a big picture of his legs right at the top of the article, and even a description of their shape, composition, and special name ("Cheetahs").

It is half-assed reporting to let the Gailey comment pass without analysis, but deceptive?; 5/15/07, 11:01 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Is the NY Times doing a prosthesis-a-thon?; 5/15/07, 1:36 PM
Revenant said...: The "fear of an imperfect body" theory collapses under the slightest scrutiny. The Olympics LOVE a story of people overcoming adversity, especially medical adversity. A person can't win a gold without the TV audience being subjected to a quick bio-pic about how they struggled with asthma as a child, or fought off cancer, or some such thing.

The official explanation makes the most sense: they want a level playing field, and this guy is different enough to give them cause for concern.; 5/15/07, 2:01 PM
PeterP said...: "...how they struggled with asthma as a child, or fought off cancer, or some such thing."

...hey, I've done both them things. So where's my medal then? I am a dee-serving case!

Camera Two - interview in ten. Mark!; 5/15/07, 3:13 PM