The line between human ability and disability has been blurred with the discovery that prosthetic 鈥淐heetah鈥� legs don鈥檛 give sprinters an unfair boost.
Peter Weyand of Rice University in Houston, Texas, and colleagues measured the energy consumption of South African sprinter and double amputee Oscar Pistorius (right) as he ran on a laboratory treadmill. They found that Pistorius uses just as much energy as some other elite athletes running at the same speed. If his Cheetahs gave him an advantage, he would burn fewer calories. 鈥淒oes he run cheaper than everyone else? No,鈥� Weyand says.
The result prompted the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week to overrule a previous decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations to ban Pistorius from competing in the Beijing Olympics, although it is still unclear whether he will qualify for this summer鈥檚 games.
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