What does it look like to you ?  If you were the sole judge of  
whether he should compete, what would you say ?  Where would you draw  
the line, if ever ?  Paraplegics in wheelchairs are not allowed to  
compete in marathons because they trash the able bodied competition.
cc

> On May 18, 2008, at 10:02 PM, Apptech wrote:
>
> I saw TV footage of him running, and commented to my wife
> about the possible energy storage advantages of the
> 'blades'.
>
> BUT
>
> Reading even the copy supplied it seems that this is a
> typical legal decision, based on each side marshalling
> logical and legal arguments, with the best overall
> combination, in the opinion of qualified adjudicators,
> winning. While some legal systems and subsystems are widely
> known, or held, to have been taken captive by special
> interests, this does not seem to be the case here.
>
> Regardless of how one may think or feel about the matter, it
> sounds like the decision was made on a proper legal basis by
> the appropriate qualified body. This was AFAIK a sporting
> ruling body and not an Olympic one per se. The fact that
> they were not expected to return the decision that they did
> and that the 'winning' lawyer suggested that the losing
> lawyers briefing had been inadequate suggests that the
> decision is the one you would hope that a disinterested
> tribunal would arrive at. It is not usually the role of the
> adjudicators to fill in the gaps that counsel fail to
> identify.
>
> A key question to me would be "Why *shouldn't* this person
> be allowed to compete on an equal footing (pun almost
> intended) with others?". Valid answers might be 'So
> different as liable to disadvantage others unfairly' or 'so
> advantaged as to influence the results unfairly'. The latter
> situation would lead into all sorts of minefields (usually
> the realm of affirmative action initiatives), the latter
> seems capable of reasonable adjudication. I see nothing to
> suggest that the decision was not a competent one. But, as
> ever, my vision may be too short for the task ;-) .
>
>
>
>         Russell
>
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