Fatigue In Pistorius's Flex-Foot Cheetahs

Oscar competed in an international track meet against able-bodied athletes and his astonishing performance prompted a series of tests to be run by German scientists. They concluded that his Flex-Foot Cheetahs gave him an unfair advantage and he was banned from competing in any future events with able-bodied athletes. In an effort to disprove this research and eliminate negativity towards prosthetic athletes, scientists in Massachusetts invited Oscar for extensive studies. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology tested his rate of fatigue first. A common belief of critics is that athletes with prosthetics have significant, unfair stamina levels. Oscar’s rate of fatigue and his oxygen consumption matched those of elite, able-bodied athletes. The results indicated that although his legs

Rodger Kram, a Massachusetts researcher, concluded that the prosthetic legs have an “inefficiency in transferring force to the ground, meaning that the runner gets less energy returned with every stride he takes. Ossur, the company that makes Pistorius’ Cheetahs, claims that its blades return 90 percent of the energy accumulated during each stride, as compared to a 249 percent return with an able-bodied foot and leg” (Turbow 1). Because of the extreme difference in energy accumulation per stride, being able to swing their legs faster enables the amputee to have the same opportunity for sprinting success as their able-bodied competition. These tests displayed the falseness of the German research and allowed Oscar’s ban to be lifted. Even with this newfound evidence regarding prosthetics in track and field, the controversy continues led by unrelenting critics. Contrary to the critics’ beliefs, athletic amputees have many more disadvantages than supposed advantages. An able-bodied athlete can start practicing for competitions immediately, but an amputee needs to work with a professional prosthetist. They need to be fitted for their new Flex-foot