Without question, the feel-good story of the London 2012 Olympics, at least so far, is the competition by Oscar Pistorius, a paraplegic who made it to the semi-final of the 400 meter dash on a pair of carbon-fiber prosthetics.
Pistorius had to petition the Olympic committee to be allowed to compete, and there are some who believe that the prosthetic legs gave him an unfair advantage.
That, of course, is inane. At least today.
At some point in the future, and it may not be that far, such modifications may indeed give a competitor an advantage over so called able bodied competitors. Not only will that blur the line between abled and disabled (which would be a good thing for society), it will force organizers of competitive events like the Olympics to make a hard decision.
Do they allow enhanced athletes to compete, or do they deny disabled athletes the opportunity to compete.
Frankly, I don’t know the answer, but we better start thinking about it, because the time is coming.