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Can disabled athletes outcompete able-bodied athletes?

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Can disabled athletes outcompete able-bodied athletes?

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Synopsis: For years, as technology advances, people have wondered when disabled athletes will outperform able-bodied athletes, but it's actually already happening in lots of olympic categories. This article concentrates on the wheelchair paralympics and how the in both women and men categories disabled athletes are faster than the able-bodied ones in most far distances.

--> "The men’s able-bodied world-record time is two hours and three minutes compared with the fastest official wheelchair time of one hour 20 minutes."
--> "At 400m the average speed for the world record wheelchair race was 8.88 metres per second (mps). Astonishingly this drops to only 8.77 mps over the 26.22 miles of a marathon. For able-bodied athletes the corresponding drop in speed is from 9.30 mps to 5.72 mps"

This could be used to show how disabled sports will look like in the future. It also has stats that could be used to prove certain points.

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Well before Oscar Pistorius was first granted leave by the International Athletics Federation to compete in the Olympics, sports fans had questioned whether disabled athletes would ever outcompete their able-bodied counterparts.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, Pistorious became the first double-leg amputee to compete at both the Olympics and Paralympics. Finishing second in his heat, he did, in fact, beat several able-bodied competitors. Other athletes to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics include archers, table tennis players, swimmers and equestrians. Nevertheless, no disabled athlete has ever won a medal at both the Olympic and Paralympic games. Consequently, with technology constantly advancing, people continue to wonder how long it will be until disabled competitors will come to dominate a sport.
The Guardian view on the Paralympics: focus on ability, not disability | Editorial
Well, wonder no longer, it has been happening for years in athletics distance events. In fact, in every distance race further than 400m, the world record times of wheelchair athletes are faster than their able-bodied counterparts.

Times for the marathon present the most stark difference. The men's able-bodied world-record time is two hours and three minutes compared with the fastest official wheelchair time of one hour 20 minutes. Even over 800m Marcel Hug's record of one minute 31.12 seconds is almost 10 seconds faster than David Rudisha's London 2012 world-record winning time of one minute 40.91 seconds. Similar trends hold for the women's world records, although the differences are less pronounced.

In both men's and women's events the fastest wheelchair racers are in the T54 category. Athletes in T54 have normal arm muscle power and have partial-to-normal trunk control. T54 competitors include Britain's David Weir, a four-time Paralympic gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympics in distances from 800m up to the marathon. T54 also boasts Hug, the man with the astounding achievement of being world record holder in the 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m. The thought of able-bodied athletes dominating over such a wide range of distances is inconceivable.

How is it that a single athlete can dominate over such a wide range of race distances? As the distance of a race increases it is reasonable to expect that the average speed at which the racer travels should decrease. This is true for all distances over 200m (in which wheelchair racers are significantly hampered by their slow starts) for both able-bodied and wheelchair racers. However, wheelchair racers maintain their average speed much better.

At 400m the average speed for the world record wheelchair race was 8.88 metres per second (mps). Astonishingly this drops to only 8.77 mps over the 26.22 miles of a marathon. For able-bodied athletes the corresponding drop in speed is from 9.30 mps ( Wayde van Niekerk's Rio 2016 world record) to 5.72 mps ( Dennis Kimetto's record 2014 Berlin marathon time). It seems, in wheelchair racing, that if you are fast, you can be fast over all distances.

This may be the case but why, in these middle to long-distance races, do wheelchair racers enjoy such an advantage over their able-bodied rivals? The answer is largely technological. In the same manner as a bike, a wheelchair is a machine which can help the athlete using it to move faster than an equivalently athletic runner.

For elite racers, wheelchairs are customised to the millimetre. Bespoke aluminium frames are constructed to provide narrow profiles which reduce aerodynamic drag in comparison to able bodied runners. Athletes are positioned in the chairs in order to push as efficiently as possible. On flat or downhill sections of races, athletes are able to coast to recover or conserve energy, whereas able bodied runners must keep expending precious energy even on downhill sections.

That being said, it's not all plain sailing for the wheelchair athletes. Track races require them to negotiate two bends every 400m and bunched conditions make overtaking particularly difficult. Road races - which have fewer bends and are less crowded - have their own issues. Camber on a road can cause athletes to head toward the kerb requiring continual correction, placing increased strain on one arm or the other. Uneven or poorly maintained road surfaces also present problems to wheelchair athletes, including the possibility of punctures.

Although wheelchair competitors may gain some advantage on significantly downhill courses, for a world record to be ratified the course has to have a minimum decrease in elevation. This is why South African Ernst van Dyk's one hour 18 minute Boston marathon time is not a true world record. As most cyclists know, on significantly undulating "legal" courses, times are almost invariably slower than travelling the same distance on the flat. The increase in speed on downhill sections never makes up for the extra energy expended and the extra time spent pushing up hill.

Despite these disadvantages, wheelchair Paralympians continue to outperform their able-bodied counterparts. With further advances in wheelchair technology they will continue to do at this Paralympics and for many more to come.

This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Topics

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Can disabled athletes outcompete able-bodied athletes?

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Well before Oscar Pistorius was first granted leave by the International Athletics Federation to compete in the Olympics, sports fans had questioned whether disabled athletes would ever outcompete their able-bodied counterparts. At the 2012 Olympics in London, Pistorious became the first double-leg amputee to compete at both the Olympics and Paralympics.

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The Lawn Tennis Association committed to helping people with a disability get active and play tennis

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The Lawn Tennis Association committed to helping people with a disability get active and play tennis

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Synopsis: Disabled athletes have been among some of the hardest hit by coronavirus. The LTA, Lawn Tennis Association, is shining a spotlight on them to try and bring more athletes back to the courts and encourage more to pick up rackets.

--> "Great Britain is now regarded as one of the leading nations in the world for disability tennis, and everyone who has played a part in the Open Court programme in any way, whether as a player, coach, official or volunteer, should be rightly proud of that."
--> "Director of sport at Sport England, Phil Smith, said: "It is really important that sport as a sector ensures that disabled people are not left behind as we return to getting active in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic."

This article could be used to talk about the issue is being resolved currently.

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The Lawn Tennis Association committed to helping people with a disability get active and play tennis

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The LTA has reiterated its commitment to helping people with a disability get active and play tennis through its sector-leading Open Court programme.

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‘Disability is not inability’: Michigan’s Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program strives to assert itself

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‘Disability is not inability’: Michigan’s Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program strives to assert itself

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Synopsis: This article takes a personal take to the issue at hand, including the voice and experience of specific disabled athletes. It talks about the trouble and pain these athletes go through, however, they are working towards changing the stigma around the topic.

--> “I know from my own experience how isolating CP can be,” Gray said. “Being a woman with a disability, it can be really hard to find other people like you. I don’t think anyone would turn down the opportunity to be a part of a community. It changed my life, so I’m going to take any opportunity I can to help the program grow.”
--> "Most communities are woefully far from recognizing adaptive sports as a necessary facet of the sporting experience. In place of making the necessary accommodations so that individuals with disability can participate in sports alongside those with able bodies, many schools instead elect to offer individuals with disability special positions like team manager, or token gestures like two minutes of playing time during the last game of the season."

This article could be used to talk about a personal experience connecting to the reader a bit more.

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Cathryn Gray isn't used to being around people like her. She's a 4.0 student, an internationally decorated athlete, the first female member of Michigan's Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program - and she has Cerebral Palsy.

Cerebral Palsy is a mobility disorder caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain. Often, it imparts a very distinct gait.

So when Gray saw Maddy Gustafson walking through her residence hall on move-in day, she immediately knew that she had found someone like her.

"I knew right away that she probably had CP (Cerebral Palsy) too," Gray said.

Trying not to be too intrusive, Gray introduced herself to Gustafson and confirmed their similarities. In the course of their conversation, Gray revealed to Gustafson that she was at Michigan on an Adaptive Track and Field scholarship.

Gustafson had no idea these sorts of opportunities existed at Michigan. The absence of attention to disability paid by her hometown community had meant that for Gustafson, the expectation that she could participate in sports had evaporated. Despite her love of running, Gustafson had last been able to be as active as she'd hoped to be during her middle school years. Eagerly, Gustafson accepted Gray's invitation to accompany her to the next adaptive Track and Field practice.

Fast forward four months, Gustafson and Gray are best friends and teammates, looking forward to competing alongside one another for the first time once it's safe.

"I know from my own experience how isolating CP can be," Gray said. "Being a woman with a disability, it can be really hard to find other people like you. I don't think anyone would turn down the opportunity to be a part of a community. It changed my life, so I'm going to take any opportunity I can to help the program grow."

Sadly, Gustafson's example is a common one. Most communities are woefully far from recognizing adaptive sports as a necessary facet of the sporting experience. In place of making the necessary accommodations so that individuals with disability can participate in sports alongside those with able bodies, many schools instead elect to offer individuals with disability special positions like team manager, or token gestures like two minutes of playing time during the last game of the season.

This lackluster effort at inclusivity is exactly what the University of Michigan's Adaptive Sports and Fitness program aims to address. During a time in which public health measures necessarily disincentivize neighborliness, Gray's efforts to befriend and include Gustafson embody the vision of the program according to its founder and director, Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami , affectionately known around campus as "Dr. O."

"We have to create equal access to physical and emotional health and wellness for students with disabilities," Okanlami said. "As a physician, recognizing the importance of physical fitness for everyone, let alone those with disabilities, is something that we're trying to close the disparity gap on and make sure that marginalized, underrepresented minority groups like individuals with disabilities have access to physical fitness and therefore a more healthy life."

When individuals with physical disabilities aren't physically active, their muscles often begin to atrophy, or degenerate. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to move around. Thus, as both Okanlami and Gray underscore, ready access to adaptive sports for individuals with disabilities is crucial.

Importantly, however, Okanlami stresses that this access should take shape in the form of a program which both individuals with and without disabilities can participate in.

"This is diversity, equity and inclusion," Okanlami said. "If we have a way that we can create the parameters to allow everyone to participate while not limiting the opportunities for the individuals with disabilities, we're going to do that."

Establishing and growing this program hasn't come without obstacles, Okanlami explained.

"Major hurdle number one is awareness," Okanlami said. "We're trying to get people to recognize that disability is not inability - that disability does not make them any less of an athlete and that it does not lessen their desire, drive, or need for physical activity in sport."

Gray echoed Okanlami's sentiment. "I don't see a lot of people with disabilities in the media, so sometimes having a disability like CP can be a little bit lonely."

For Okanlami, the Michigan community has a long way to go in order to catch up to other established programs around the nation.

"If we want to be the leaders and the best in this arena, we could be," Okanlami said. "But we have to acknowledge that right now, not only are we not the best, we are not leading, and we are not even in the conversation."

Okanlami laid out how schools like Alabama, which has a $10 million facility dedicated exclusively to adaptive athletics, and Illinois, a widely-recognized powerhouse in wheelchair racing, are "blowing Michigan out of the water."

He stressed that in addition to expanding programs like this one, introducing adaptive sports to younger people is even more important. As such, one of the program's main objectives is to integrate adaptive sports into the state of Michigan's K-12 curriculum .

"We're trying to change that misperception, that stigma," Okanlami said, "and we're starting that around the elementary school level so that kids don't see disability as a negative, they just see it as another aspect of the things that make us different."

Okanlami spoke of this process of "mainstreaming" adaptive sports as a sort of Gestalt switch. Wheelchairs, traditionally seen as impediments to sports like basketball or tennis, should instead be seen as necessary equipment for playing wheelchair basketball or wheelchair tennis, just as ice-skates are seen as necessary for playing ice hockey.

"This doesn't mean you have to use a chair in your real life, but when you're playing (wheelchair basketball), that's how you play this sport," Okanlami said.

Currently, the Adaptive Sports and Fitness program houses wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, and track and field, and is incorporating para-equestrian activities. In the future, Okanlami would like to see the program expand into other sports, such as golf and wheelchair racing.

Gray, among others, seeks to expand the influence of the program in other ways.

"What I really want to do is to use competing as a vehicle for positive change," Gray said. "I want to grow the program and speak about disability issues like my mom did for me growing up. I want to do that for other people."
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'Disability is not inability': Michigan's Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program strives to assert itself

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Cathryn Gray isn't used to being around people like her. She's a 4.0 student, an internationally decorated athlete, the first female member of Michigan's Adaptive Sports and Fitness Program - and she has Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is a mobility disorder caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain.

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We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities

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We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities

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Synopsis: Sports are an extremely beneficial activity for both children and adults, therefore, it's important to make it an equal chance for everyone to participate. Recently, guidance has been released that states schools are obligated to provide disabled students an equal opportunity.

--> "Students with disabilities are no different like their peers without disabilities, these students benefit from participating in sports. But unfortunately, we know that students with disabilities are all too often denied the chance to participate and with it, the respect that comes with inclusion" (Arne Duncan).
--> "Today, ED’s Office for Civil Rights has released guidance that clarifies existing legal obligations of schools to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate alongside their peers in after-school athletics and clubs" (Arne Duncan).

This could be used to show the change that's been made but at the same time it sounds like it could be a little late, and that should already have been a obligation.

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Disability and Sports (Author: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Disability)

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Disability and Sports (Author: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Disability)

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Synopsis: People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination. This article talks about the power of sports and its ability to transcend those barriers. Sport can help reduce the stigma associated with disability by transforming community attitudes towards disabled people by highlighting their skills and reducing the tendency to see the disability instead of the person.

--> "Through sport, persons with disabilities acquire vital social skills, develop independence, and become empowered to act as agents of change."
--> "It is reported that 93% of women with disabilities are not involved in sport and women comprise only one-third of athletes with disabilities in international competitions."
-"Article 30 of the Convention addresses both mainstream and disability-specific sport and stipulates that “States Parties shall take appropriate measures to encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels”."

This could play an important role by establishing the foundation for my claim and argument.

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Rio 2016 - Paralympic Games, 17-18 September 2016

The Paralympic Games and the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, by Sir Philip Craven

UNESCO International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport (English, French, Spanish)

Resources on disability and sports (publications, websites, major disability-related sporting events)

Youth depart UN leadership camp with plans to use sport to tackle social issues

Panel Discussion on Sports for Inclusive Development: Sports, Disability and Development: Key to empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 27 June 2011.

The unique ability of sports to transcend linguistic, cultural and social barriers makes it an excellent platform for strategies of inclusion and adaptation. Furthermore, the universal popularity of sport and its physical, social and economic development benefits make it an ideal tool for fostering the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in many societies. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment and community life which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being. In some societies persons with disabilities are considered dependent and seen as incapable, thus fostering inactivity which often causes individuals with physical disabilities to experience restricted mobility beyond the cause of their disability.

Sport can help reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with disability because it can transforms community attitudes about persons with disabilities by highlighting their skills and reducing the tendency to see the disability instead of the person. Through sport, persons without disabilities interact with persons with disabilities in a positive context forcing them to reshape assumptions about what persons with disabilities can and cannot do.

Sport changes the person with disability in an equally profound way by empowering persons with disabilities to realize their full potential and advocate for changes in society. Through sport, persons with disabilities acquire vital social skills, develop independence, and become empowered to act as agents of change. Sport teaches individuals how to communicate effectively as well as the significance of teamwork and cooperation and respect for others. Sport is also well-suited to reducing dependence and developing greater independence by helping persons with disabilities to become physically and mentally stronger. These skills can be transferred into other new arenas including employment and advocacy work further helping to build self-sufficiency.

The power of sport as a transformative tool is of particular importance for women as women with disabilities often experience double discrimination on the basis of their gender and disability. It is reported that 93% of women with disabilities are not involved in sport and women comprise only one-third of athletes with disabilities in international competitions. By providing women with disabilities the opportunity to compete and demonstrate their physical ability, sport can help to reduce gender stereotypes and negative perceptions associated with women with disabilities.

Moreover, by improving the inclusion and well-being of persons with disabilities, sport can also help to advance the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For example, sports-based opportunities can help achieve the goal of universal primary education (MDG2) by reducing stigma preventing children with disabilities from attending school; promote gender equality (MDG3) by empowering women and girls with disabilities to acquire health information, skills, social networks, and leadership experience; and lead to increased employment and lower levels of poverty and hunger (MDG1) by helping to reduce stigma and increase self-confidence.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first legally binding international instrument to address the rights of persons with disabilities and sport. Article 30 of the Convention addresses both mainstream and disability-specific sport and stipulates that "States Parties shall take appropriate measures to encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels". It also calls upon Governments, States party to the Convention, to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sport and recreational venues - as spectators and as active participants. This also requires that children with disabilities be included in physical education within the school system "to the fullest extent possible" and enjoy equal access to "play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities".

Resources on disability and sports

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Article 30 - Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport

General Assembly Resolution: Sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace (A/RES/69/6)

International Disability in Sport Working Group
Sport in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
International Platform on Sport and Development (2008)

National Disability Authority
Promoting the Participation of People with Disabilities in Physical Activity and Sport in Ireland

Sport for Development and Peace Working Group International Working Group: Harnessing the Power of Sport for Development and Peace: Recommendations to Government (2008)
Chapter Five: Sport and Persons with Disabilities: Fostering Inclusion and Well-Being

World Health Organization
Young People with Disability in Physical Education/ Physical Activity/Sport In and Out of Schools: Technical Report for the World Health Organization

Rights to Participate in Sport, Recreation and Play

Websites:
Cerebral Palsy International Sports & Recreation Association Disabled Sports USA Handicap International International Blind Sports Federation International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity International Paralympic Committee International Platform on Sport and Development International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID)International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS)Rick Hansen Foundation
Sports and Physical Activity for Persons with Disabilities- Awareness, Understanding, Action

United Nations Sport for Development and Peace - Sport and Persons with Disabilities Thematic Working Group

Major disability-related sporting events include:

Deaflympics - Ban Ki-moon about 18th Winter Deaflympics
Disability Commonwealth Games Paralympic Games Special Olympics

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Disability and Sports | United Nations Enable

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Rio 2016 - Paralympic Games, 17-18 September 2016 The Paralympic Games and the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, by Sir Philip Craven UNESCO International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport (English, French, Spanish) Resources on disability and sports (publications, websites, major disability-related sporting events) Youth depart UN leadership camp with plans to use sport to tackle social issues Panel Discussion on Sports for Inclusive Development: Sports, Disability and Development: Key to empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 27 June 2011.