So life can be fair after all. After the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled against Oscar Pistorius's participation in the Olympic trials because his prosthetic limbs - referred to as Cheetahs - supposedly gave him an advantage, a higher court overruled the IAAF, claiming that Pistorius has no advantage over non-disabled athletes and in fact may be at a disadvantage taking turns, getting out of the blocks, and running on a wet track. Even George Vecsey, the highly respected sports writer for the New York Times, agreed it was the right decision and softened his opinion that Pistorius had an unfair advantage: "While I still have my doubts about the implications of these springy lower limbs - both in magnifying speed and affecting other runners - I find myself applauding the narrow one-case judgment of the court."

The IAAF based its decision on studies that were conducted in a German lab by Dr. Bruggemann, who concluded that the Cheetahs were energy-efficient. Pro bono attorneys for Mr. Pistorius had their own independent tests performed by a team of researchers at MIT, who concluded that the South African runner did not gain any advantage over non-disabled runners. The unanimous ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sent shockwaves through the international world of track and field, notably diminishing the IAAF ruling and making it clear that discrimination had no place in sports.

Read the entire column at http://www.ncpad.org/558/2497/A~Great~Day~at~the~Oscar~s~.