Torque On Bronze Bolts

Running foul?

THIS weekend South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius will set his carbon-fibre prostheses into the starting blocks alongside able-bodied sprinters at the World Athletics Championships which begin on August 27th in Daegu, South Korea. The 24-year-old Mr Pistorius holds the double-amputee world records for all the sprint distances (100, 200 and 400 metres) and has been competing against non-handicapped athletes in international races since 2008. Last month he ran the 400 metres in 45.07 seconds, quick enough to qualify for Daegu, as well as for the 2012 Olympics in London.

Born without the fibula, one of two bones which support the calf muscle, Mr Pistorius’s legs were amputated below the knee before his first birthday, the age by which most toddlers have learned to stand and many are learning to topple forward into their first steps. Incredibly, the simple physics of this tipping motion combined with his carbon-fibre calves have converged to produce one of the most efficient runners in history. 

Mr Pistorius began sprinting in January 2004 after sustaining a knee injury while playing rugby. Eight months later, aged 17, he won gold in the 200 metres at the Athens Paralympics, setting a world record in the process. His remarkable running economy was recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the sport's governing body. In March 2007 it intervened to prevent Mr Pistorius from racing against able-bodied athletes, introducing a rule banning devices incorporating springs . He appealed, submitting to tests comparing his gait and physiology to those of other athletes, to no avail; the IAAF upheld its decision. A year later, however, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a tribunal deal with all manner of sporting controversies, overturned the ban , rebuking the IAAF for its handling of the matter.

Much of the debate has centred around whether an amputee, with less muscle mass, has a metabolic advantage over those with their limbs intact. The rub is that measurements of an individual's metabolic capacity vary over time and are only ever indicators of potential performance. The highest aerobic capacity in a field of athletes is no guarantee of victory. Pistorius was found to be exerting 25% less energy than able-bodied athletes  (a discrepancy he has no doubt been training to remedy ever since).

1985 Bayfield Sail Boat (Auction Item ID: 141755, End Time : Aug ...

Auxililary Engine: Yanmar 4 JHE, 44 HP 4 Cylinder Diesel engine with 2.17 to 1 reduction, fresh water cooling system and Racor fuel filter. All electric control panel mounted on port coaming and weather protected, fitted with tachometer and hour meter, audible alarm and keyed ignition. Throttle control and clutch control mounted on Edson pedestal with guard and brake. Propeller shaft of stainless steel with a three bladed bronze marine propeller and zinc anode on the shaft. 12 Volt exhaust blower for engine compartment. Welded aluminum fuel tank. 45 LMP gal Plumbing: Manual marine head with remote welded aluminum holding tank. Hot and cold pressure water system, with faucets at galley, vanity and shower. Telephone style shower fixure. Brass sea water hand pump at galley. Welded aluminum water tank with 82 imp. gallon (100 U.S.) capacity, deck fill and vent. Hot water provided by heat exchanger off main auxililary engine and 110 volt shoreside current. Marelon seacocks on all thrhulls below waterline. Manual double-action bilge pump. 5 ft bow sprite with teak platform and anchor roller. Stainless steel welded bow pulpit and stern pulpit with gate. Heavy walled stainless steel stanchions with vinyl coated 7x19 S.S wire double lifelines with two gate braces, and boarding gates port and starboard with pelican hooks. Molded bulwakrs with anodize aluminum toe rail cap. Cast almag mooring chocks and oversize mooring cleats. 2 chocks with cleats on bow, 2 closed chocks with cleats amidships and 2 chocks with cleats on stern. 10 cast almag opening ports with screens, sized and positioned for optimum ventilation and natural lighting. 4 cast almag opening deck hatches, screened. Traditional teak butterfly skylight over salon, screened. Sliding companionway hatch and sliding teak framed screen. Teak trim and taffrail in cockpit. Water, fuel and waste deck plates.

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