News and Events

Pistorius blade row: Expert reviews steps versus stride

3 September 2012

BBC News UK, 3 September 2012

By Bryce Dyer, Senior Lecturer in Product Design, Bournemouth University.

Engineering design expert Bryce Dyer spoke as a sports technology expert on BBC News on 3 September 2012 giving his view on the debate surrounding South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius and his rival Alan Oliveira in the Paralympic T44 200m final.

In the interview, BBC reporter Huw Edwards asked Dyer about the unfair advantage Pistorius claims gold–medallist Oliveira had with his prosthetic running blades. “If you look at the number of steps that Pistorius took for his run, he actually took less steps than Oliveira, which suggests that Pistorius' stride was longer than his was” says Dyer.

In answer to the question about the technical side of the Paralympics, Bryce continued by saying that the running blades and their length are based on serious tests and mathematical forms which designed to ensure fairness before a race even begins. “The running blades are a type of equipment that can be tuned and tailored based on the athletic needs,” says Dyer.

From Dyer’s viewpoint, the new technology being developed is enhancing the sport, “The new blades have taken the sport forward and makes it competitive and interesting”, says Dyer. “It has developed the sport in a wider state then it possible would have been before.”

See the full interview on BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19466922

By Sofia Eriksson