Run

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051601089.html?hpid=artslot

Very interesting. I've seen a tv report about athletes with these running prostheses. And if you ever get a chance to see one of the runners go, take it. Totally freaking amazing. A small part of it is that you are watching someone overcome a challenge. But honestly, the biggest thing is that it looks really, really cool. It's not Peg Leg Pete dancing a jig. It's watching someone turn into a rocket. It's not about ability, it's about super-ability.

I can kind of see why they might want to put careful consideration into whether they let people use them in the Olympics. A person using a sport model prostheses can actually potentially run faster than a person on two feet. But then again, it's not like steroids and done by a simple injection. Not many people would be willing to have their legs amputated in order to up their level of competition. I'd say not any, but I'm not willing to bet that about some people. But I hardly think there will be an epidemic of people desperate for gold who will be removing limbs for their shot at the 2012 Olympics. Plus, it's not like you just get a prosthesis and suddenly are a world class athlete. You have to learn to walk, literally, before you can run. And for those people who are actually inclined to run, they'd need to practice and train in order to be able to control your running motion. Practice and train. What does that sound like? Oh, I don't know. An athlete?

Maybe they would be too good. But is the fact that they can go faster any more their fault than the fact that Jessie Owens could blow past other athletes? This is competition. People with two feet could be pushed out of competition by people with non-organic limbs. Maybe that will be the spurt that pushes athletics to a whole new level of achievement. Or maybe not. The world is getting faster in many ways. The next wave of evolution may not come from a genetic anomaly. It may come from a laboratory.