Blog #5: Assessing Fairness

 Assessing Fairness in Sports: Adaptive Technology

Adaptive Technology: Should it be Allowed?

Determining whether athletes should be allowed to compete in sports with adaptive technology has many underlying complexities and controversies. There are gray areas to assess and studies to reflect upon when addressing levels of advantages these technologies provide. Differences in what technology is designed to do in the Paralympics and the Olympics are additional factors to address.  

Attributes to Fairness: Want or Necessity?

Image by Miriam Bribiesca, people.com

Adaptive technologies such as running blades and racing wheelchairs are familiar assets used in the Paralympic games, allowing Para athletes to maximize their strengths. Scientific studies referenced in this video were conducted to determine if disabled athletes with running blades performed similarly or better than able-bodied athletes. It was concluded that the differences were negligible in terms of running performance. This supports the idea that athletes like Blake Leeper who require technology such as running blades, should be qualified to compete in able-bodied sports.

In the Olympics, we saw full body swimsuits fitted with polyurethane, which gave the swimmers an unfair advantage. The issue arises when adaptive technology is used as cheating tools to gain a competitive edge over other athletes. The Royal Institution shares a video featuring Professor Steve Haake. He discusses the issue of women’s swimsuits that arose, where polyurethane swimsuits allowed swimmers to swim more effectively. This use of adaptive technology was ultimately banned because it highlighted important differences. Improving performance through training is acceptable versus using technology to gain a competitive edge.

Disadvantaged Nation Accessibility:

Another viewpoint to consider is the accessibility of adaptive technology for disadvantaged nations. The latest and greatest renditions of adaptive technology come at a high cost, whether from limited suppliers, expensive materials, or shipping costs. A video by BBC demonstrates the manufacturing process and specialized tech involved in creating running blades. They are also uniquely fitted for every athlete's body, meaning no one size fits all for this specialized equipment. 

Another video shared by the Olympics explores the advanced technological capabilities of the racing wheelchair. This provides further evidence of the close relationship between technology and success. For example, if nation 1 had access to these latest racing wheelchairs competing against nation 2 using older technology, it would set nation 2 at a disadvantage. These factors are important to assess when ensuring equal opportunity for success for competing nations.

Conclusion:

As engineers develop and improve upon previous renditions of adaptive technology, athletic performance statistics also improve. The Paralympics is widely praised and recognized for providing an even playing field amongst Para athletes. Identifying the different uses of adaptive technology utilized in the Paralympics drives a strong indication of fairness. Adaptive technology such as running blades, which provide no competitive edge over other runners, should be allowed in able-bodied sports. This has been backed by scientific evidence through various simulations and studies. In contrast, using adaptive technology to give able-bodied athletes an unfair advantage over others should always be prohibited.