A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Amputee long jumper Markus Rehm is running out of time to make the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August as the world athletics body has not yet set the criteria for ruling if he can compete with his prosthetic leg. Nicknamed "Blade Jumper", the 2012 Paralympics gold medalist and 2014 German long jump champion hopes to become the second athlete with a carbon fibre running blade to compete in the Olympics after South Africa's Oscar Pistorius in 2012. But a new rule by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) requires amputee competitors to prove their prosthesis gives them no added advantage over other athletes. Competition Rule 144.3(d) bans 'the use of any mechanical aid, unless the athlete can establish on the balance of probabilities that the use of such an aid would not provide him with an overall competitive advantage over an athlete not using such aid.' In order to present his case to the IAAF, Rehm, who beat able-bodied athletes with a jump of 8.10 metres at the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix in February, has asked for the criteria for this regulation but still not received a reply.
It was an extraordinary turnaround for an Olympics that was expected to be held without major issues by a country known for public safety and economic stability. It also revealed a fatal miscalculation by Japanese and IOC officials of public sentiment at a time of heightened fears over the coronavirus.
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