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New Limbs, New Rules: Prosthetics in Track and Field

Do "Blade Runners" have certain athletic advantages?

By Emma Sims

In the competitive nature of running sports such as track and cross country, every small advantage helps. When athletes equipped with prosthetic legs choose to compete in such events, many assume that they are at a clear disadvantage. Some, however, have continually argued that despite the lack of limbs, the runners have several small advantages that should separate them from competing against regular athletes.

Sometimes called “blade runners,” individuals who compete in track and field track are equipped with carbon fiber blade prosthetics. The blades are simple, but can hold the weight of the individual and the force they exert when running. I recently was able to attend a seminar presented by Dr. Toni Pak, who creates modern prosthetics with increasingly natural human abilities. Pak’s prosthetics are much more automated and advanced, as he uses neural interface to create myoelectric devices as well as body-powered prosthetics. Such functions would not be able to equip runners as efficiently as the blade prosthetics. Additionally, if more advanced prosthetics for runners are developed, there will be an unfair advantage in competition for those who can afford the best and most current technology on the market.

There are no concrete rules concerning the eligibility of bladed runners within high school and collegiate competition. Hunter Woodhall is an extremely accomplished high school track and field athlete, as well as a blade runner. Woodhall was born with unformed fibulae and underwent amputation at 11 months old. Five months later, he obtained his first pair of prosthetic limbs and has used them ever since, swapping various pairs out for different sports. As Woodhall excels in his running career, more onlookers begin to question his success. Are the blades giving him an unfair advantage over runners with regular legs? The scientific debate over advantages has never fully been settled. In cases such as the famous Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, it has been argued that the blades allow runners to use up to twenty-five percent less energy than an able-bodied individual (which deemed Pistorius ineligible for the 2008 Beijing Olympics). However, further studies disagreed with the conclusion, as they found that the mechanical differences created just as many problems as advantages. Woodhall knows all too well of such disadvantages. He has the most trouble gaining momentum from the starting line, as well as difficulty during tight turns. Additionally, if he is jostled and knocked over during competition, the race will be over for him.

Science still heavily disagrees on the ethics of blade runners in open competition. The NCAA does not have any rules against prosthetics, however, so Woodhall attends the University of Arkansas and continues to live out his passion of running. Overall, blade runners face much adversity, and banning them from competitions should not be done unless future scientific evidence weighs the pros and cons of carbon fiber blades and determines that there are more benefits than detriments. 

Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/sports/woodhall-pistorius-blade-runner-prosthetics.html