Back in the 1980s, the BBC's satirical puppet show Spitting Image ruffled a few yarpie feathers with a little ditty titled " I've never met a nice South African". Sadly, the great Paralympian runner Oscar Pistorius has just lived down to that slur, with his complaints about his defeat in Sunday night's 200 metres final. According to Pistorius, his conqueror, Alan Oliveira of Brazil, only won because he was using "blades" -- artificial legs -- that were longer than the regulations allowed.
The International Paralympic Committee has quickly denied the charge, and Pistorius himself has issued a grudging sort-of-apology, regretting the timing of his outburst but standing by the accusation itself. Here's a suggestion, Oscar: watch a video replay of the event. Over the last 50 metres or more, Oliveira's legs were pumping dramatically faster than yours were. That's why he won.
It's such a shame. Pistorius has been a superb athlete who has done much to bring Paralympic sport into the mainstream. Now he risks going into the history books as a sore loser.
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