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Re: Blind Pro Triathlete filing suit against USAT [psychosyd]
psychosyd wrote:


The initial rule was put in place without any consultation with Aaron (by far the fastest and most active blind athlete in the world)


Under what criteria, with regards to the bold? Your statement may have been more accurate if you said he is the fastest VI Triathlete in the world, except that he did not win the ITU ParaTriathlon World Championship...

One of the issues paralympic competitions face is the need to classify athletes into group of similar disability. This is not the same as whining that you can't train as much as the guy that won your AG. A burly discuss thrower missing a leg below the knee is going to be no more competitive in ParaTriathlon than a 145lb bike racer with the same disability trying to compete in discuss. The classification system levels the playing field as best it can with regards to gross ability, it does not account for equipment, genetics, training, etc.

Also, it's easy to say, "just add another category." The problem is dilution of fields, you need numbers to justify a race and adding categories will make fields smaller. Then you have to convince countries to send athletes to fill the categories, but each nation has a limited amount of athletes it can take to the event. It's not such a clear-cut issue when you look at everything involved.
Last edited by: AaronT: Jun 22, 11 11:51

Edit Log:

  • Post edited by AaronT (Dawson Saddle) on Jun 22, 11 11:51