I recently got selected to serve on the Youth Steering Committee for persons with disabilities in Wisconsin, created through an agency known as Wisconsin Facets. It’s an intriguing, developing project, but I have to admit I’m not exactly certain what it entails. We’ll find out at the first of two all-day meetings this year on May 31, and details will be shared in this space. Committee members are required to serve a one-year term, which can be extended to a three-year stint.

The general thrust of the project figures to be creating advancement opportunities for people with disabilities and their vital interests. This brings to mind the case of South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius. The record-setting sprinter is suing for inclusion is this summer’s Beijing Olympics, as track’s international governing body has banned the leg amputee from competing. Why? Pistorius must use prosthetic legs with carbon-fiber blades, known as Cheetahs. The name might be dubious, because the “legs” make Pistorious a habitually slow starter because he cannot crouch in the starting block. He also trouble negotiating turns and curves. But track officials say (stop me if you’ve heard this before) that the blades provide Pistorius an unfair competitive advantage because lengthen his stride, thus requiring less energy expenditure to build speed. Moreover, given his pattern of getting faster later in races, some might say that blades help increase Pistorius’s endurance.

Oscar’s trainers and coaches say he trains like a madman and that his singular focus has always been on being a champion. He’s fighting this battle because he resents being told he can only compete in the subsequent Paralympics this fall. He wonders aloud if those against him are truly trying to protect the integrity of sport and competition or if they’re really afraid of what might happen if he were to win. What would it do to alter society’s image of the athletic body?

Pistorius’s has gained national attention in outlets such as The New York Times and ESPN, and after hearing both sides of the argument, the facts seem to be on Oscar’s side. Scientific evidence regarding the “advantages” of prosthetic legs is limited and inconclusive at best, as a prominent physical therapist told the Times that a prosthetic leg returns 80 percent of the energy absorbed in each stride, whereas a natural leg can return up to 240 percent. This suggests Pistorius is at a disadvantage when racing, and even an “expert” employed by track’s governing body admitted to ESPN that Oscar himself must do the work that would enable him to outrun other able-bodied  athletes.

A final ruling is expected in August. No doubt Pistorius is already set to run toward his golden dream. He should be allowed to.