("For Runner with M.S., No Pain While Racing, No Feeling at Finish")
Overcoming
a disability to compete at elite levels is an incredible accomplishment
to be greatly applauded. But in some of the discussion of Kayla
Montgomery's feat, there are alarming parallels to allegations made
against other disabled athletes.
When there is question raised as to whether Montgomery's M.S.
provides her with a competitive advantage, it brings to mind the
travails endured by both Casey Martin and Oscar Pistorius (who is now
facing problems in a wholly different arena).
Martin, severely hobbled by a birth defect in one leg, had to
fight all the way to the Supreme Court for the right to compete (with
the "aid" of a golf cart) at the highest level of his sport. And
Pistorious was forced to push back against adverse rulings and compelled
to undergo rigorous testing before his carbon fibre prosthetics were
permitted in able body events.
It is hoped that Ms. Montgomery will be applauded for her
bravery and her athletic prowess in the coming months and years and any
discussion of competitive advantage from a numbness in her lower limbs
will quickly fade away.
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