Fair Sport

   Week 6   

  Fair Sport  

    The technology used in sports has always been a controversial topic. This is mostly seen in the Paralympics because of the more visible connection between the person and a machine. Many new technological advancements are surfacing over the years which improve the lives of people with disabilities. The essence of the Paralympics is that technology must be safe and responsible but must not enhance the athletes' performance beyond natural ability. I believe that if an athlete has adaptive technology they should be allowed to use it unless it is being used incorrectly. It could be used incorrectly by making them perform better than normal or giving them an advantage in a certain way. Both, the Olympics and Paralympics, have issues with how to deal with technology and keep the "purity of the sport." But what has to be known is technology is just an extension or tool of the person, it is the athlete that harnesses the skill for the sport. Just as an able-bodied athlete may have running sneakers that they train with and then change into their track spikes. A person in a wheelchair may train with their normal wheelchair and switch it out for the one they are going to compete in. These aren't changes that affect the persons' ability beyond normal, they are changes that will aid them in their sport. People should look at this topic and realize that technology matters but the athlete matters more.

  Technology in able-bodied sports  

    Blades are prosthetic lower limbs that are used by amputee runners. The blades have a curved shape and a carbon fiber structure that allow runners to reach higher speeds than traditional prosthetics because they are light and springy. Blade prostheses share some of the same characteristics as biological limbs, they store energy as they bear the runner's weight and then release it as the runner pushes off the ground. Much in the same way as a leg calf muscle and Achilles tendons spring and recoil. But a major difference is that a blade prosthetic does not pivot or generate its own energy. A runner using this can adjust the stiffness and the angle at which a foot strikes the ground to accommodate any changes in a running surface. The blade's competitive benefits include the ability to move the prosthesis faster with less effort. "Researchers who have studied blade prostheses disagree fiercely over the net impact of these pros and cons on overall performance."(Greenemeier, 2016)

    After looking at much of the research on this topic I do not believe that society is ready for athletes who use technology and able-bodied athletes to compete side by side. I believe there is too much controversy on this topic for everyone to come to a full agreement. There have been many studies conducted to fully understand if the use of adapted technology, such as running blades, provides an athlete with an advantage. The University of Washington's Morgenrith states that whether a carbon fiber prosthetic offers athletes an unfair advantage will never be answered, given how much research is being done to understand what makes a runner faster. Ultimately, both sides of this argument give really good points and I can see myself agreeing with both sides of this topic. This is why I do not think society is ready for these athletes to compete together.

  Sources  

Greenemeier, L. (2016, August 5). Blade Runners: Do High-Tech Prostheses Give Runners an Unfair Advantage? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/blade-runners-do-high-tech-prostheses-give-runners-an-unfair-advantage/

“The Tech behind Paralympic Blades - BBC Click.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbluQzV4Ruk&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fblackboard.stockton.edu%2F&feature=emb_imp_woyt. Accessed 26 Feb. 2023.