Pistorius decision due

Sports news part 5

In December last year, the IAAF issued a press statement saying that the decision around Pistorius' eligibility to run in Beijing would be made on 10 January. I have since read that the decision is to be delayed until the 12th, to allow Pistorius time to respond to the IAAF's decision.

It's one of the more poorly kept secrets around, since apparently, the lead researcher on the case, Prof Bruggemann, has said that the carbon fibre "Cheetahs" offer a considerable advantage to Pistorius. So it seems the IAAF is preparing for a challenge to the ruling, which is a highly costly affair (the testing they paid for cost between 70,000 and 100,000 dollars), and also, the expertise they had in Prof Bruggemann must rank as the best in the world. Finally, it's been theoretically argued that the limbs would provide the "considerable advantage" that has now been proven, so it's difficult to see what avenues he can pursue.

Now, this is an issue we've covered many times here at The Science of Sport, and we'll certainly wrap it up with analysis when that report is eventually released and we have a final decision.