Really TCIA001?
You lost me at the no child left behind statement. What does this have to do with handing out trophies? Are you suggesting that a guy who's missing both lower legs hasn't worked to be able to run as fast as he does on his carbon fiber prostheses? Do you think he doesn't train as hard as normal athletes? Do you think he sits back swigging his beer while others train? Are you suggesting that kids with infirmities of their own wouldn't see him as a can-do example? Are you telling me that the other runners will let him win out of pity? Are you suggesting someone is handing him a victory before he runs? He'll be competing with fully able bodied runners and if he loses, he loses, and if he wins, he wins. Perhaps you are a bit naive/ignorant of the mechanics of running and prosthetics? No prosthetic limb will ever be better than one's own limb with it's 7 million years of evolutionary R&D behind it. No matter how fast he runs, he's still awkward on prosthetic limbs.
The six million dollar man, even if he was 'bionic' didn't run well because he had bionics/mechanics installed, he ran fast because he was a fictional character on television. A real 'six million dollar man' would likely clomp around awkwardly and might not be able to run at all.
I say that as long as there are no active mechanical component aids in the prosthetic limbs, that any athlete that can compete should be able to do so at the level s/he fits into. If we find in the future that we are able to give an advantage to an athlete with passive prosthetics, then revisit at that time. Until then, let's see what happens.
