Question: Do you think disabled athletes who can run equal times to able bodied athletes should be allowed to run in the same race as an able bodied athlete?

Pete Etchells answered on 4 Jul 2012:

I think that’s a very hard question to answer. In principle, there’s no reason why able-bodied and disable athletes shouldn’t compete together, if they can compete at the same sort of level. However, I guess it depends on the nature by which a disabled athlete can run in the same way as an able-bodied one – if it’s via the use of physical aids, such as Oscar Pistorius using blades to replace his legs, then you could argue that the competition no longer is about human performance, but also about technological developments; is he competing at the same level because he is good, or is it because he has blades that are incredibly efficient?