How many Olympics do you get to write that? Never before. Which is why this moment belonged to Oscar Pistorius.
At 10:35 a.m. on a cloudy London Saturday morning, a South African man with two prosthetic carbon legs took his place in Lane 6 and history. Every other competitor in the 400 meters had two feet. A double amputee since 11 months, Pistorius had none.
How emotional was his? "I didn't know whether to cry," he said later.
How happy was he? He mentioned he had "cramping in his cheeks from smiling so much."
How fast was he? His 45.44 was the 16th-best time. On to the semifinals.
This is one of those tales that is not a simple one. Some have suggested that technology has given him an edge. Some have suggested this is getting uncomfortably close to the bionic man, and anyone nicknamed "the Blade Runner" belongs more to Hollywood than the Olympics.
Some have wondered what the intensity of the storm would be, if he actually had a chance to win.
Four people we should meet, all with a reason to appreciate what Saturday meant.
First, the American 400-meter man who at 19 had his legs shot in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles.
"He motivates all of us," Bryshon Nellum said. "I have two legs, but there was once a time when I didn't have them. To not have them is, like, one of the worst feelings ever."
Next, the 31-year-old London man walking into the stadium on two crutches Saturday morning to watch the track session. William Swift lost his right leg seven years ago in a motorcycle accident.
"The whole part of recovery is adapting to whatever you've got to deal with. When you see what he does, you think anything is possible.
"I'll be cheering him on louder than pretty much everyone else there."
Now, the 50-year-old multiple sclerosis victim, sitting in his wheel chair in the grandstands.
"I think it's a double-edged sword. It's fantastic because it's breaking down barriers," Anthony Stone said. "But it also sets the bar incredibly for people to think 'I can do that,' when I likely never will."
No. Stone's challenges are everyday life, not a 400 heat. And yet, there was a connection felt with the man moving toward the starting block.
"It's trying to put your trousers on. It's brushing your teeth. The 400 meters is a lovely aspiration, but if you set the bar that high, then it makes things like brushing your teeth that much easier, in a peculiar way."
Lastly, the doctor at Mayo Clinic who spends her life working with the rehabilitation of amputee victims. Karen Andrews has been encouraging her patients to watch Pistorius.
"He's a big story. Just for people to be able to see that one of our patients was able to swim was very inspirational to them. So to see somebody reaching such an elite athlete status is incredible.
"It's incredible because of the demographics. More people have diabetes, so more people are having amputations. Also the wounded warriors. There are such a lot of people with amputations. When I speak to someone to tell them they're going to have an amputation, all they can think of is a devastating loss.
"Now people are aware of him."
Pistorius was thinking of family on this landmark day. His 89-year-old grandmother was here, holding a South African flag. He was 15 when he lost his mother, the one who in the mornings would "tell my brother, Carl, 'You put on your shoes and Oscar, you put on your prosthetic legs, and that's the last I want to hear about it.'
"I grew up not really thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes."
So this is the guy who supposedly has an edge.
Back to our four.
Swift: "I think it's sour grapes."
Andrews: "I find it hard to say that somebody that has achieved his level of function without feet has an unfair advantage."
Stone: "This is the entry level. Fast-forward 50 years when you've got super duper titanium. Then it'll be a real issue."
Nellum: "I'm not sure. I'm not positive. I have my legs so I can't relate to it. He's out there running the same as we are. We're all human."
But not all on two legs. When the starter's pistol went off Saturday at the Olympics, that didn't matter.
You think Oscar Pistorius has an unfair advantage?
Care to trade places?
Culled: USA Today
No comments:
Post a Comment