Oscar Pistorius was born without the small lower bones in his legs, which required him to have two lower-extremity prostheses at the age of 11 months. After becoming one of the top athletes in the 2004 Paralympics, he decided to take on the challenge of competing in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Pistorius is a world-class athlete who runs on carbon fiber curved blades - not an easy task for even the most adept athlete. He holds the Paralympic world record in the double amputee classification in the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter runs. With hard work and determination, Pistorius recently reached a new milestone in his career -- running in open competition with athletes without disabilities with a goal of making the Olympic qualifying time. This has created an international uproar because the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has decided to ban Pistorius from any further competition until a scientific analysis is performed of his running motion.

Read the entire column at http://www.ncpad.org/487/2371/2007-8~Issue~~Stereotypes~Still~a~Problem~for~Disabled~
Athletes

Read the original New York Times article on Oscar Pistorius, titled "An Amputee Sprinter: Is He Disabled or Too-Abled?", that appeared on May 15, 2007 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/sports/othersports/15runner.html?_r=1&ex=1186632000&en=9731e85cc0952776&ei=5070