Why are we so determined to send a man with no legs to the Olympic Games?
Is there not another man that can run the 400m in under 45 seconds anywhere in South Africa? I think that I will make it my life’s goal to run the 400m in under 45 seconds.
For what seems like forever, Oscar Pistorius has been trying to qualify for the Olympic Games. First, he did extremely well in the world of disabled athletics: a part of athletics and all sport, for that matter, that is amazingly inspirational. There is nothing more of a wake-up call than seeing people put aside their disability and perform at the top level of their sport. In South Africa, the disabled athletes seem to perform better than their able-bodied counterparts. The wheelchair basketball side, now sponsored by Sasol, is top class in the world. Natalie du Toit will be competing against swimmers with both of their legs in Beijing in the open-water swimming.
But what is Oscar Pistorius doing? Let’s start with the disabled side of it. I think that he is one of the greatest 400m and 200m disabled runners ever. He has broken world records; he has won just about everything. He has come from adversity and turned it around to be a poster boy for motivation, dedication and inspiration. Now, though, I think that he is not only embarrassing himself, but also athletics in South Africa.
Oscar is trying to run a time that will allow him to run in the 4x400m relay in Beijing — a very noble attempt. He will one of four men who will run once around the track, pass a baton off to another and try to win a medal for South Africa. But therein lies my point: of all the men we have in South Africa, and we have about 20-million of them, are we not able to find one who can run faster than a man who has carbon-fibre legs? By his own admission, Oscar has to work harder to run the 400m because his legs don’t give him an advantage. Is the development of athletics so poor in South Africa that we need a disabled athlete to run a leg (excuse the pun) of the 4x400m?
Maybe we are putting Oscar into the team because he is disabled. Then a whole lot of other questions are raised. Is he a quota runner? Should we include a disabled athlete in every sporting code? Imagine the sport portfolio committee with that one: “Sorry, Mr De Villiers, but not only do you not have enough players of African heritage in your rugby side, but you are also going to have to put in more men with disabilities.”
How absurd.
Disabled athletes have their competition — not to keep it separate, but to make it more of an even playing field. Like against like. It’s the same reason there are no women in the Tour de France or no women running in the men’s 100m final. An even playing field is what the Olympic Games are all about.
I have not even gone into whether Oscar’s blades are legal or not; that is a debate for another day. But are the Paralympics indeed an even playing field? Some poor man or woman in a poor part of the world cannot afford personally fitted carbon-fibre blades, so how can he or she compete against someone from a well-off part of the world? Maybe all athletics comes down to money. South Africa will get massive sponsorships because of the exposure we get because of Oscar.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I respect Oscar, I just don’t respect our athletics bodies for not finding a man who can run faster than him. The next Olympic Games will be held in London. I will be 39. I will find four men who can run sub-45 seconds in the 400m.
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