Conclusion

The case of Oscar Pistorius is still under examination by the I.A.A.F. as well as other leading athletic organizations, though due to the amount of progress currently being made, his hope for competing in the Beijing Olympic games looks bleak. There is still much to consider on his behalf, both scientifically and ethically. People must decide if they are ready to begin accepting the disabled into competitions that are not otherwise specified for them. Only then can change ensue, allowing athletes such as Oscar the opportunity of a life time.

So why is this such a difficult call to make? There are many other challenging questions that need answering and yet people think it's necessary to stop and ponder whether or not someone should be allowed to participate in a world renowned sporting event strictly because of a debilitating condition. Of course, some aspects of this case must be analyzed first, like wether or not Oscar's prosthetics really offer him an advantage against the able bodied. Aside from this, what other justified reasons would a person have to bar him from the Olympics? If their only excuse is "he's disabled" then I would assume that an act of discrimination is at hand, which does not paint a desireable picture for the impending future of sports.

Finally, why do we care? I personally care because someone's dream and possibly the expansion of the disabled sporting world, hangs in the balance. Whatever final conclusion the I.A.A.F. comes to, be sure that it will either open a doorway and introduce change or close the subject for good with little hope for a later testimony. So why should you care? Well, unless your a disabled athlete fighting for your right to partake in the Olympic games then you probably have no reason to. I'm not going to insist that you find this issue as interesting and controversial as I do but if by chance, you find something of value here then I encourage you to form you own opinion and act on it. In my opinion, if athletes such as Colin Jackson do not have a problem facing Oscar in competition, then why should anybody else? I think that Oscar should be permitted to partake in the Olympic games regardless of his prosthetics and I look foreward to watching him in 2008.