Should Oscar Pistorius be excluded from the 2008 Olympic Games?
Oscar Pistorius' wish to participate in the Olympics is debated.
| 09.05.2008 
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Abstract:
This paper discusses the predicament of Oscar Pistorius (OP). He is a paralympic gold medallist who wishes to participate in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
Following a brief introductory section, the paper discusses the arguments that could be, and have been, deployed against his participation in the Olympics, should he make the qualifying time for his chosen event (400m).
The next section discusses a more hypothetical argument based upon a specific understanding of the fair opportunity rule (Rawls, 1970).
According to this, there may be a case for allowing OP to compete even if he should fail to make the official qualifying time. |
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The final part of the paper reviews the situation at the time of writing and offers some assessment of the strategy of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) in responding to it.
It is argued below that the proper focus for assessment of OP’s eligibility to compete should not be on whether his blades (J-shaped prostheses) lead to his having an unfair advantage over his competitors, but instead should focus on whether what he does should be classified as “running”.