The Cheetah Flex Foot

I was first called attention to this topic of prosthesis technology during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Because I love watching sports and especially have an interest in track and field, this particular event involving advanced prosthetic legs caught my attention immediately. An amputee sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, was banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)from participating in sanctioned competitions, including the Olympics and World Championships. The IAAF stated that Pristorious's high performance, J shaped, prosthetic leg, the Cheetah Flex Foot, gave him an advantage of able bodied runners. A team of experts and biomechanics then ran experiments on the South African athlete in order to provide statistical proof for the case against of Pristorius vs. the IAAF. The scientific team compared Oscar Pristorius against track athletes with intact limbs to evaluate his energy cost of running, fatigue resistance and sprinting mechanics. All of the following were indeed similar to intact limb athletes except the sprinting mechanics which were markedly dissimilar. At top speed Pristorious exerts considerably less force against the ground in relation to his body weight and he spends 34% less time in the air. In addition he takes 21% less time to reposition his legs between steps and therefore is able to cycle faster. In summary, the results proved that Prisotrious did have an advantage over able bodied athletes and it was the correct decision to ban him from participation.