Pistorius' Record Has Been Broken
Malone is a double amputee below the knee, but through the assistance of prosthetic blades, he was able to run a time that was just 0.11 seconds outside of his country’s able-bodied record. In the same T43 400m final, silver medalist David Behre of Germany also broke the previous record with his time of 46.23. This proves that 'blade runners’ are getting faster.
Do Blade Runners Have an Unfair Advantage over Able-Bodied Runners?
In Rehm’s case, he uses one blade whereas Pistorius used two. Experts continue to disagree, but some of the suggestions surrounding perceived advantages and disadvantages include:
- Biological feet give runners metabolic efficiency, meaning less effort with every step.
- In Rehm’s case, he was disadvantaged and could not reach maximum speed as easily as able-bodied athletes, but the prosthetic limb does aid his take off in the long jump.