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Marcel Hug of Switzerland is faster over 800m than able-bodied world record holder David Rudisha. By Christian Yates, University of Bath | Photo Credit: Ministerio do Esporte, CC BY-NC-SA

Can disabled athletes outcompete able-bodied athletes?

Well before Oscar Pistorius was first granted leave by the International Athletics Federation to compete in the Olympics, sports fans had questioned whether disabled athletes would ever outcompete their able-bodied counterparts.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, Pistorious became the first double-leg amputee to compete at both the Olympics and Paralympics. Finishing second in his heat, he did, in fact, beat several able-bodied competitors. Other athletes to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics include archers, table tennis players, swimmers and equestrians. Nevertheless, no disabled athlete has ever won a medal at both the Olympic and Paralympic games. Consequently, with technology constantly advancing, people continue to wonder how long it will be until disabled competitors will come to dominate a sport.

Well wonder no longer, it has been happening for years in athletics distance events. In fact, in every distance race further than 400 metres, the world record times of wheelchair athletes are faster than their able-bodied counterparts.

Times for the marathon present the most stark difference. The men's able-bodied world-record time is two hours and three minutes compared with the fastest official wheelchair time of...

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Can disabled athletes outcompete able-bodied athletes?

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