Oscar Pistorius – shape+colour

To me, Oscar Pistorius is both a fascinating human story and a signal of things to come. Born without bones from the knees down, he’s overcome adversities that most of us can’t even fathom. Now he’s a fast enough runner that he’s on the brink of becoming the first Paralympic athlete to compete in the Olympics themselves. However, the opposition he faces is greater than just his lack of legs…

Check out my last post about Pistorius for the complete story on the controversy surrounding his journey. In the end, after wrangling with various international athletic federations and flying around the world for scientific tests, Pistorius was only finally allowed to try and make the South African Olympic team mere weeks before the preliminaries and he fell seconds short of making the team. His sights are now set on London 2012. I’ll say it right here, right now: in 2012, Oscar Pistorius will become the first “differently abled” athlete to compete in the Olympic Games and make history before all of our eyes.

For now, Pistorius remains an inspiration; a shining beacon of just what the human body and mind is capable of in a competitive world designed to keep people inside their neat little boxes. Pistorius has appeared in Nike South Africa ads before, but in this new spot, “Bad Listener”, they pay a subtle tribute to the strength of his will. There’s a slight irony here, with the spot created to coincide with the opening of an Olympic games that Pistorius won’t be attending (though he will be competing in the Paralympic Games, where he’s sure to continue demolishing the competition as he has been for years. He’s the Michael Phelps of Paralympic Track).

The ad isn’t anything particularly groundbreaking, but with subject matter like this you don’t really need it to be. Shot with his actual trophies and at the actual high school he attended in Pretoria, Nike and W+K were smart enough to know all they needed to do was tell the story simply and with truth, because the emotion inside it is so great and universal that it’s doesn’t need to be augmented by any advertiser or agency.

It’s almost so quick and easy as to brush past you. But I dare you to calm your mind, sit for a moment, watch this, and actually imagine what it would be like to be him. To have everyone tell you that your dreams are impossible. And then to prove them all wrong. And to have to do it every single day.

(Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam. Director: Brent Harris. Production: Rabbit at Bonkers.)

Via Creativity Online

This pisses me off. A few days ago the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced that South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, “the fastest man on no legs”, would not be allowed to compete at any events under it’s jurisdiction – including the Beijing Olympics. A bilateral amputee from the knees down, Pistorius runs on mega-high tech carbon fibre artificial limbs called Cheetahs. Maybe the name is too intimidating. They should call them “Slowpokes” or “Turtlesticks” or something.

Pistorius has been annihilating Paralympic records since he first started running. After only 8 months of training, he broke two Paralympic world records in his very first race. Since then he’s gone on to consecutively break his own world records 29 times and holds the world record times in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. More than that, Pistorius was simply too fast for the Paralympics. Suddenly, for the very time, an amputee athlete was running at almost the same times as his able-bodied competitors.

At the 2007 South African National Championships he won silver in the 400m against able-bodied runners. In July 2007 Pistorius competed in an able-bodied international 400m race for the first time – and came in second. He then announced his intention to become the first amputee-athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. That’s when the international debate began…

Pistorius has blown up the expectations of what a Paralympic athlete should be to compete at the very top of his sport. Rather than assume that maybe he’s one of the best runners ever, it’s assumed that it’s only possible because of his prostheses. Not because of the triumph of his will or a natural talent so great that it simply couldn’t be hidden.

Watching him run is amazing and has to be seen to be appreciated:

Soon, the IAAF was being asked questions it never had to face before. Pistorius was breaking out of the box. What exactly was he? Disabled or enhanced? Transcendent or assisted? A bunch of slower able-bodied runners wanted to know how he was beating them. Because it couldn’t possibly be that he’s just better.

In November 2007, German professor Gert-Peter Brueggemann began testing the artificial limbs at the request of the IAAF. His study found that Pistorius’ limbs used 25% less energy than able-bodied runners to run at the same speed. In December, prematurely discussing his findings before the release of the official report, Brueggemann told Die Welt newspaper that Pistorius “has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us.” This week IAAF made the announcement.

The argument is that Pistorius gets an unfair advantage from the spring provided by his prostheses and that since they’re lighter than organic legs he doesn’t tire as easily – giving him an advantage at the end of the race. The counter argument is that since his prosthetics lose 20% of the energy they expend (an organic leg only loses about 7%) it’s harder for him to build momentum – giving him a disadvantage at the beginning of the race. Easier at the end, harder at the beginning. So doesn’t everything even out?

The greater question here is one that will keep arising as biological technology evolves. A scientist can bounce his prostheses up and down in a machine and determine that it releases some percentage of energy versus a human leg, but how do we quantify the effort and skill it takes for an athlete to adapt their body to function that way? If we’re cool with assisting an amputee to a point that they’re considered “equally normal” to us, how can we then use that very assistance in a bid against them if they excel at something? Clearly Pistorius is naturally gifted. At what tipping point do we decide that someone is being given an unfair advantage instead of a fair one?

In a world that over-uses the word “hero” and makes false-champions out of a lot unworthy personalities, he’s the real deal. Imagine the training and willpower it’s taken him to train his body and the courage to fight the dissent he clearly faces. He’s a pure example of turning what everyone tells you is a disability into a unique ability. He inspires me.

Pistorius has said before that if the IAAF decides to not let him run he’ll appeal. I hope he does. And I hope he kicks ass.