Blade Runner: Just the beginning?

The Olympics has come and gone, heroes have been created, dreams fulfilled and one man became a self confessed living legend. In addition to this though, one achievement was made that was unique; a disabled athlete competed against able bodied competitors for the first time in history. Pistorius made history running in the 400m and made the semi finals proving that through use of his ability alone, he was rubbing shoulders with the elite, as an equal.

The issue of Pistorius is a curious one; hero among fellow athletes and spectators alike, his achievements are recognised by everyone. Very rarely is a bad word said about the well liked South African. However, it could be argued that it would take but one race to change opinions regarding this superb athlete, and his participation in both forms of the Olympics.

Pistorius fulfils him dream by running is the Olympics, as an equal.

The Paralympics games offer a chance for disabled athletes the same chance as their able bodied counterparts, to compete for the title of the world’s best on the biggest global stage of them all. Oscar however, has achieved all there is to achieve in this form of the games and is now almost “too good” for his fellow athletes to compete against, and so he headed to the Olympic Games as a disabled athlete in search of competition. It is widely recognised that he, as a “disabled athlete”, is less able and therefore at a disadvantage compared to his fellow Olympic rivals. This begs the question however, is he at a disadvantage, or actually is the fact of the matter that while Oscar has no lower legs, he actually enjoys many advantages over able bodied athletes and therefore is actually competing with the advantage?

In the current climate the fact is that Oscar managed to reach the semi finals, therefore this could be deemed as the best result all around. Oscar managed to win his respect as an equal while not affecting the results of the big race, and not changing the fortunes of the athletes at the top of their sport. While this continues to happen, the issue of fairness that surrounds his “blades” will be swept under the carpet as a non matter. However it is very interesting to imagine what might have happened were he to have run a great race and taken the place of a contender in the Olympic final. Of even more interest, what would have happened if better still he was able to achieve a medal performance. Would his fellow competitors still hold him in the same affinity (illustrated by Kirani James below); would they still celebrate his achievements? I suspect not. It is human nature to be envious of those who achieve your own dreams and if the athletes were to believe that an unfair advantage was being enjoyed by a fellow athlete, it is very likely they would make that view felt.

New Olympic champion Kirani James: ‘Oscar is someone special, especially in our event. It’s a memorable moment for me to be out here performing with him.
‘He’s an inspiration to all of us. He is very special to our sport. He’s a down to earth guy and a great individual. I thought it was a nice gesture to exchange bibs. I am going to keep it.’ (Quote Daily Mail 2012)

As a sprinter you are susceptible to a number of injuries; common sense and past history tells us that most of these injuries are related to ones legs. Familiar injuries suffered include ankle injuries, calf muscle injuries and perhaps most commonly hamstring injuries. While humanity will always encourage empathy towards a disabled athlete due to the compassion we possess towards ill fortune, from purely a sporting viewpoint it is common sense that Oscar Pistorius cannot possibly suffer from these injuries due to him having artificial replaceable leg limbs (blades). This therefore gives the advantage that at no time can he suffer with the injuries most common for sprinting and nor can he fail to properly warm up a leg muscle and so pull or tear it. Finals in athletics history are littered with heartbreaking injury stories from instances such as Derek Redmond battling back from injury in the Barcelona games only to pull a muscle while in contention, to most recently Asafa Powell being unable to finish the 100m final at the London Olympic pulling a groin. I am by no stretch of the imagination suggesting that Oscar’s loss of limbs is more tragic than career defining and ending injuries; the fact that his limbs are created solely for the use of running and are unable to suffer these injuries gives him a marked advantage over current athletes. In addition to this, and most evident is Pistorius’ event, is the issue of tiredness and lactic acid. In the 400m, an event using both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, a major part of training is the training of pushing back the lactic acid threshold. While Pistorius is sure to suffer from such a build up, the effects will be less remarkable during the fight to the line down the home straight and he therefore hold the ultimate advantage.

As has earlier been suggested, at present the advantages that Oscar may possess are almost irrelevant due to his place just below the top table of 400m sprinters.  The issue presents itself that in a sport that is progressing at a rapid rate, who is to say that developments made to his blades in the future or more importantly those of a future more talented disabled athlete, won’t bridge the gap on the top sprinters creating a standoff in the face of fairness. Just 24 years ago Ben Johnson of Canada ran a blistering 9.77 100m race under the influence of performance enhancing drugs, this was seen rightly as cheating as he had an unfair advantage that the other athletes could not naturally possess; an advantage that the other athletes did not have that made it easier for him to run a much faster time. While ethically the use of blades and that of performance enhancing drugs are worlds apart, can it not be argued that they are in effect creating the same result, an advantage over the athletes who do not have them? Ben Johnson without the drugs was a world class athlete in his own right as is Pistorius, the drugs merely gave him the push to become THE best, they enabled him to run the 0.2 seconds quicker which would elevate one from world class to legend status. Performance enhancing drugs can create an ability to be able to train harder, to run faster and to not tire as quickly, all traits shared by the blades of Pistorius.

It is clear that Oscar Pistorius is an athlete who deserves our adulation, one that we should admire and respect. When dealt a cruel hand by life his pure talent, hard work and determination led him to becoming the most incredible athlete the Paralympics has ever seen. While one cannot possibly want to punish an athlete of such integrity and liken him to those who cheat fellow athletes and the athletics world, by taking illegal substances to give them an advantage, thought must be given to where this saga will lead. Whether using blades or taking drugs, fellow athletes will not stand for their rivals being able to obtain a clear advantage which inevitably will lead to a clash in the event of an athlete with blades winning a medal in the Olympics. While seeing a disabled athlete run alongside the able bodied in London was a proud, memorable and emotional experience one fears that this must signal the end of such happenings for the sake of the sports future. Fears are that we will be entangled in a war over just what is deemed fair in athletics which could lead in arguments that drugs are as fair as blades in terms of performance, leading to the abolishment drug testing and the end of athletics as a sport rather than a scientist’s playground.

Olympic Athletics- Day 1 Evening session summary

The opening night in the Olympic Stadium was electric.

The evening session on day one focussed, from a British point of view of course, around the women’s heptathlon once again. The women had both the shot put and 200m to contend with to complete what will have been an exhausting day. Resuming 25 points ahead of Fountain, her nearest rival at this point hailing from the USA, Ennis and co tackled what is one of her weakest events: the shot put. Young Brit Katarina Johnson-Thompson also struggles with the shot put and her first attempt was evidence of this. She threw in the vicinity of 11.5m. Towards the worst in the competition, unfortunately this remained her best throw and she dropped from 3rd to 20th overall. Ennis too opened quite tamely with a throw approaching 14m. Louise Hazel, still reeling from her disaster in the high jump, threw well but the truth is that any ambitions she may have had have disappeared with the earlier performances earlier in the day.  In the second attempt Ennis threw 14.26 which was a slight improvement but still can be considered as merely average. This was certainly not the result she would have been looking for.  Skujyte from Lithuania threw a frighteningly good 17m + throw which has put her straight into the fight for medals; this performance will have her rivals looking worryingly over their shoulders as she has shown her versatility in jumps and throws already and found herself top of the pile after 3 events. Pre competition favourites to rival Ennis Chernova and Dobrynska threw strongly and are still in the hunt for the gold.

The heats of the women’s 100m was the first action on the track, and it soon became extremely evident from the outset that weather permitting throughout the next week and a half the times are going to be electric! Jeter, Madison, Kagbare, Campbell Brown and Fraser Pryce all got out well and comfortably ran under 11 seconds without appearing to break a sweat. Fraser Pryce looked particularly smooth in her race. Alyson Felix started poorly but still managed to fly through the field and looked easy finishing in 11.01, signalling intent to the field that so long as she gets a good start she’ll be a major medal challenger. Kerron Stewart from Jamaica got a very poor start and struggled to finish just third despite being a pre games favourite.

British athletes Ade Oyepitan and Onoura struggle to 5th place in their respective heats which only adds fuel to Charles van Commenee’s damning assessment of women’s sprinting at present. It further validates his point of view that the British women not qualifying for the sprint relay was no big loss as they weren’t good enough to make any impression at all. Oyepitan fortunately made it through as a fastest loser but on this evidence is far below the level needed to progress any further.
In the qualifying for the long jump Greg Rutherford qualified impressively almost qualifying automatically with just his first jump in 8.08m, and Chris Tomlinson too when jumping  8.06m. These distances were ultimately far enough to achieve the third and fourth best qualifying distances, so both will be present in Saturday’s final along with all the expected challengers bar the defending champion from Panama Irving Saladino who completed 3 fouled attempts.

In the heats of the men’s 1500m Britain Ross Murray overcame early problems as he got boxed in the inside lane, to come through impressively and qualify for the semi final. He showed maturity beyond his years and made a great Olympic Debut. Andrew Badderly who is a consistent championship performer showed his experience and just did enough to qualify comfortably.

In the first final of these Olympics a great battle ended in victory for Olympic champion,Majewski as he became 2 time Olympic champion,becoming the first man ever to retain the title. He threw 21.89 to win from German athlete David Storl, American Reese Hoffa completed the medals.

Continuing the action on the track was the crucial 200m in the heptathlon. This was of huge importance as it sets the athletes up to attack their goals in the final 3 events. In terms of British athletes it was extremely important for Ennis that she ran well and possessed a lead going into what is her weaker of the two days tomorrow. The first British athlete to run was Louise Hazel who achieved 24.49, just outside a season’s best. After a difficult day Hazel gave herself some momentum going into tomorrow. Also running in the same heat was Olympic champion Dobrynska who ran very well to finish just behind Hazel cementing her place in the mix for the gold medal. Skujte gave up her overall lead by running a poor 25.43, exposing her major running weakness and perhaps lessening her threat for the gold medal. American threat Fountain ran well in winning her 200m heat, and temporarily led the competition. This performance gives the American a chance of challenging for the major medals tomorrow. The final heat contained both remaining British athletes, both looking to complete successful days. This heat also contained another of the favourites for the gold, Chernova. Ennis came off the bend, quite far behind Schiffer after a steady curve, however she blasted down the home straight to a PB of 22.83 and tied for the win, taking the overall lead in the proess. The young pretender, 19 year old Johnson Thompson also ran a PB 3.73 to come 5th in the heat to cap a hugely impressive debut day in senior competition.  Chernova ran well to come 4th, reminding Ennis that she is not disappearing from the competition with her strongest disciplines still to come. Ennis leads overall by 184 points, which is a healthy lead at this stage. So long as she completes her performances to the quality we expect tomorrow, she is certainly on course to challenge strongly for the gold medal.

In a classic head to head between Diababa and Cheriyot, the track events were wrapped up for the day with a world class field contesting the title of the women’s 10,000m. The British athletes Holly Bleasdale and Jo Pavey did themself justice, though they were in effect ina different race. Bleasedale is at the beginning of her career and will use this as a platform on which to build. She finished just behind Pavey in the minor places but in a respectable top 12 finish, in a race that Pavey will have enjoyed as a swansong with it being in London, knowing that she is in the twilight of her career.

Towards the end of the race a group of four athletes pulled away and contested for the three medals as they took in in turns to try to break the opposition. Diababa made a telling break at the bell and continued to power away from the opposition who could not do anything about the sheer power of Dibaba as she blitzed to a 62 second last lap! She left Cheriyot for dead on the last lap and confirmed to the world her dominance. An amazing performance from the Ethiopian pulled down the curtain on an amazing first day of competition.

Olympic athletics- Day 1 Afternoon session review.

The first morning of the athletics has finally arrived; the wonderful Olympic stadium gets its first sporting use of the games with the Heptathlon taking centre stage on this opening session.

The first event on the track was indeed the Heptathlon, and the first discipline being the 100m hurdles. The first emotion anybody watching will have endured is pure astonishment at the unbelievable capacity crowd and more noticeably the noise that it generates. The first recipient of a home ovation came in the second heat in the shape of Louise Hazel. The atmosphere upon her name being called out was electric and she flew out of the blocks attacking the first 5 hurdles with vigour. Unfortunately she tied up ever so slightly and ran 13.48, which was still a seasons best. Given her start though she will certainly feel that she was unable to quite utilise her performance and squeeze the maximum points out of this event.

Next came a look into British athletics future as the young athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson ran in the next heat. Hopes for this young athlete grow daily after she beat Jessica Ennis’ junior record recently. She certainly has the talent to go all of the way and these games will be if nothing else a huge learning experience for her and will stand her in good stead for the future. Upon her announcement the crowd again responded with a chorus of noise, to the point that the young athlete was clearly overwhelmed and exclaimed “oh WOW” visibly. She ran an encouraging race and achieved a personal best time of 13.48.

Then came the moment a nation has been waiting for, you could almost say that this signals the real start of the games for some fans; Jessica Ennis, the face of the games, was announced to the crowd! To put it simply the crowd went nuts! The roof was literally nearly blown off.

Drawn in lane 7 with most of her main rivals in the same heat, Ennis was in need of a blistering start to her campaign in what is her favourite event. She most certainly didn’t disappoint. Ennis stormed to 12.54!! The best time ever by a heptathlete, and a time that Colin Jackson remarked “would qualify her for the individual 100m hurdles final”. This time is a new British record in the hurdles she managed to knock two tenths off of her personal best, the perfect start. Chernova thought to be her closest rival was a second behind, and therefore gives Jessica Ennis a healthy lead going into the next rotation. One rival who was very encouraged by her performance was reining Olympic champion Dobrynska who is not renowned for her hurdling but ran sharply before slightly tieing up towards the end to post a new seasons best of 13.57. While the time was not noteworthy it is clear she is in very good shape which is ominous with her strengths coming on day two of the event.

The next home hopes to grace the track were the men’s 400m hurdlers. All three athletes will have high hopes of reaching the final. World, European and Commonwealth champion Dai Greene ran in the third heat from the narrow lane 1. A raucous applause greeted him as he prepared to embark on his journey to complete his set of titles, only the Olympics title has so far eluded him. He looked very easy winning in 48.98 after easing up over the last 30m.

Rhys Williams ran in the next heat alongside favourite Javier Culson. Culson ran extremely comfortably winning the heat in a time much quicker than the earlier heats, but unfortunately Rhys Williams finished a disappointing 5th and had to rely on a fastest loser spot even though he had run a seasons best, in what was the fastest heat. Regardless of him getting through it seems very unlikely that he will progress past the semi final stage from what is likely to be a poor lane draw. Jack Green ran well relying on his finishing speed to come home second in his heat.

All the main protagonists made it though along with the British athletes, notable performances came from US champion Tinsley, former Olympic champion Sanchez and two-time Olympic champion Taylor who all looked extremely comfortable.

Another British medal hope was up next on track as the heats of the women’s 400m commenced. Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu came second in her heat after easing up and looked very strong in doing so, adding fuel to the belief that once again she is ready to peak for a major competition final. Shana Cox and Lee McConnell qualified in third from their heats and will struggle to get much further on this evidence.

The major rivals for Ohuruogu are expected to be World champion Montsho and Richards-Ross and both looked impressive in winning their heats, as did the Jamaican hopes Whyte and Williams-Mills.

British hope Aldama qualified for the final of the triple jump with ease by jumping 14.45 with her opening jump, but there was disappointment in the field events as Carl Myerscough failed to qualify for the final. Alex Smith had mixed emotions in the Hammer throw as he threw well reaching just under 75m. This was very low in his pool and with another pool yet to come, his chances were bleak. However, this was suprisingly far enough to reach the final, after only two people qualified from the second pool of athletes leaving Smith 12th. Stokes enjoyed the 300m steeplechase but was never in the same race as those who challenged to qualify for the final. He ran in a heat that contained Olympic champion Kemboi, who ran a very strangely paced race and looked, distracted by off track problems, but still qualified.

The session ended much in the same way as it began after the heptathlon girls returned with the high jump. There was early misery for Louise Hazel as she failed at just 1.62 capping of a slightly disappointing morning for her. Both Ennis and Johnson Thompson suffered no such early problems though, as they progressed to the later heights. Ennis managed to jump 1.86 which is a very solid showing and will please her even though she came so close with her second attempt at 1.89. Ennis ensured that she finished the session in front of the field, so is right on course to fulfil her dreams. Johnson Thompson enjoyed a storming performance in the high jump finishing with a great height of 1.89m a new PB, putting her 3rd overall, an amazing start.  A major rival to Ennis for the gold Chernova disappointed once again in the high jump reaching just 1.80m, though she still has all of her strong events yet to come despite her being outside the top 10 presently. USA athlete Fountain continued to have a great first day in the high jump and has certainly thrown her hat in the mix for medals.

For the British athletes it was a very successful opening session, and overall so far there is yet to be any shocks of note.