Beyond Pistorius: rise of 'cyberathletes' could change sport as we know it

Andy Lewis' dream died when he was 16. Just out of
school, the Englishman had been accepted for an elite traineeship with
the army when he was hit by a truck, which resulted in most of his left
leg being amputated.
The available prosthetics were basic and uncomfortable, severely
restricting his movement. For over a decade, he could not run.
"The legs were too heavy and manufacturing companies didn't
understand what materials I needed," Lewis recalls.
Now 31, Lewis is fresh from winning a gold medal at the Madrid World
Paratriathlon in September. The achievement owes much to his
determination to succeed, but technology has also finally caught up with
his ambition.
Lewis won the race using an Ottobock S380 - the first above-the-
knee prosthetic leg specially made for athletes. A lightweight, shock-
absorbing frame allows for greater speed and comfort, and a flexible
knee joint provides range of movement and versatility that enables
Lewis to make rapid transitions from the pool to bike to track -- which
shaved critical seconds off his winning time.
But when we meet at his training center in Chesham,
on the outskirts of London, the champion is impatient
for further progress.
"By the Paralympics in 2016 I can envisage a lot of
new legs coming out...The knees are getting smaller,
the legs will have microprocessors, and you will be
able to press a button to change foot for the different events."
Lewis also hopes to have a 3D-printed socket to avoid some of the
bruising he suffers in competition.
To his support team at Pace Rehabilitation , the new champion is a
symbol of a revolution in prosthetics, which is transforming lives and
sporting competition.
"There have been major changes in the last two to three years," says
Pace's head prosthetist Jamie Gillespie. "It used to be that there were
only two types of running blade, but companies are now offering a
greater range for different competitions, adjusted to boost performance,
so the challenge now is to find the right blade for the right person for
the right sport."
Previous models were generally too painful for athletes with prosthetics
to run over 200 meters, but Gillespie notes that Oscar Pistorius rose
to prominence at 400 meters. As the possibilities multiply for
disabled athletes, so too does participation, competition, and standards,
which encourages manufacturers to develop ever-better equipment.
Pace's clients include numerous Paralympic athletes, and they work
with some of the most advanced new prosthetics. These include
Ottobock's new Genium X3 , widely regarded as the most advanced
prosthetic leg in the world, co-developed with the US military and
fitted with a micro-processor that adjusts for the user's stride pattern,
different types of movement from jogging to climbing stairs, and a
range of terrains.
Another client, skier Jozef Metelka, became the first European to
receive a power assisted ankle system from Biom last year, which
allows him to move faster and use less energy.
As the equipment improves, athletes with prosthetics have achieved
some startling feats, even out-performing able-bodied athletes.
Amputee long jumper Markus Rehm won the German national
championships with a jump of 8.24 meters on carbon fiber blades,
before the athletics federations controversially excluded him from their
squad, claiming he could have an unfair advantage.