On July 19, 2011, Oscar Pistorius clocked 45.07 in Lignano, thus qualifying for the world championships and the London Olympics. What makes this a watershed moment is that Pistorius famously has a double amputation and runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. So, is this a pivotal moment when the sports world finally starts to see disabled/ non-disabled athletes competing together? Well, maybe not quite yet. Pistorius is so far a one-off, a unique runner with a unique talent. Not everyone is convinced by any means; take Elio Locatelli of Italy, the director of development for the I.A.A.F: “With all due respect, we cannot accept something that provides advantages…it affects the purity of sport. Next will be another device where people can fly with something on their back.”
However, others take a different view, like Robert Gailey, an associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Miami Medical School, who has studied amputee runners. He says: “There is no science that he has an advantage, only that he is competing at a disadvantage”. This all reminds me in so many ways of Drake Music collaborator Charlotte White’s experiences – whose abridged performance of Bach’s Cello Suite No.1 in G major is arguably the most watched clip of music making using assistive music technology.
Back in 2008 when she enquired about whether her performance could be accredited under existing grade examinations, she wasn’t exactly overrun with encouraging responses. One example: ‘Having considered the matter very thoroughly we feel that there is no possibility of assessing this type of performance against the criteria that we use for all our examinations and so cannot preserve the integrity of the qualification.’ This is not to say that people were not impressed, nor genuinely interested in how she achieved her performance; but the use of ‘integrity’ puts me in mind of the ‘purity’ quote above. The participation systems in both sport and music are just not ready – nor set up yet – to embrace the ‘white heat’ of assistive technology without seeming a wee bit threatened. And really, there’s no need to get tangled up in this debate. Surely the best way to demonstrate our true integrity as a society – and through the activities of sport and music – is to embrace these new performances and new achievements. I for one will be glued to my set next summer cheering Oscar Pistorius on.
