IAAF PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE PISTORIUS ELIGIBLE
Monte-Carlo
- The
IAAF is
pleased
to
announce
that the
Court of
Arbitration
for
Sport ("CAS")
this
afternoon
has
declared
that
Oscar
Pistorius
(RSA) is
eligible
to
compete
in
competitions
under
IAAF
Rules.
The
decision
is a
culmination
of a
process
in which
Mr
Pistorius
and the
IAAF
have
co-operated
together
to
resolve
the
issue of
whether
the
"Cheetah"
prostheses
Mr
Pistorius
wears
give him
an
advantage
in
competition.
While
the IAAF
has been
keen to
give Mr
Pistorius
every
opportunity
to
participate
in its
events,
it had
to deal
with
some
concerns
that he
may be
gaining
an
unfair
advantage.
As a result, in November 2007, Mr Pistorius and the IAAF voluntarily engaged in a process of testing under the auspices of Professor Brüggemann at the Sportshochschule in Cologne. Professor Brüggemann provided his report in December 2007. Following this report, the IAAF Council took the decision that, because Professor Brüggemann had found that the prostheses gave Mr Pistorius an advantage, he was not eligible to compete.
Mr Pistorius referred the matter to CAS where further expert advice was obtained and reviewed. The hearing before CAS was conducted in an open, constructive and co-operative fashion with all parties keen to establish the truth.
The CAS
Panel
has
today
delivered
its
decision.
It has
decided
that, at
the
moment,
not
enough
is known
scientifically
to be
able to
prove
that Mr
Pistorius
obtains
an
advantage
from the
use of
the
prostheses.
Consequently,
it has
cleared
him to
run.
President
Lamine
Diack
has made
the
following
comment:
"The IAAF accepts the decision of CAS and Oscar will be welcomed wherever he competes this summer. He is an inspirational man and we look forward to admiring his achievements in the future.”