Medical device company Össur’s “Life Without Limitations” slogan may achieve a new level of meaning Saturday when South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius takes the Olympic field in London for the individual 400-meter and 4×400 meter relay qualifying heats.
Pistorius, of course, is the double amputee who wears Össur’s Flex-Foot Cheetah on each of his legs, the 1st such candidate to compete in the Olympics. The high-caliber prosthetic technology has enabled Pistorius’ running career to flourish, earning him the nickname “Blade Runner,” and “fastest man on no legs.”
While most marvel at Pistorius’ ability to have qualified for South Africa’s Olympic team, some argue that the streamlined and specially-engineered Flex-Foot technology gives him an unfair advantage over other runners.
Either way, it’s a victory for the Reykjavik, Iceland-based prosthetic maker and its Flex-Foot Cheetah, a J-shaped, carbon-based prosthetic foot designed to simulate the function and action of the foot and ankle.
The name Cheetah was added to the represent the design’s slight resemblance to the hind leg of the cheetah, the fastest running land animal. Much like the way the cheetah’s foot reaches out to the ground while thigh muscles pull the body forward, so too does the Flex-Foot rely on the strength of the runner’s upper leg to propel the runner forward.
The technology is mostly used in below-the-knee amputees, allowing for the best use of the prosthetic.
Pistorius is the ideal candidate. Both his legs were amputated below the knees at the age of 11 months after his fibulas failed to develop. Other athletes who have used the Flex-Foot Cheetah include Marlon Shirley and April Holmes, both from the United States, and both of whom have competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Paralympics.
“With this extraordinary accomplishment, Oscar Pistorius has achieved what no other lower-limb amputee has ever done, and helped make Össur’s Flex-Foot Cheetah a household name,” said Össur’s president & CEO Jon Sigurdsson in a press release. “As the ‘Blade Runner,’ he is one of the most recognized and influential amputees in the world, embodying what it means to live life without limitations."