Black athletes win world and Olympic sprint crowns even though they have an advantage, so why not let Pistorius compete against athletes with two whole legs?
Those on both sides of the divide spend a lot of time arguing whether the blades give the amazing Pistorius an advantage. Last month, he ran 45.07s over 400m, making him the 18th fastest man this year. It earned entry to the elite level of the world championships and qualified him for the Olympic Games in London next year. Michael Johnson's 400m world record is 43.18s.
There have been truckloads of scientific claims and counter-claims as the IAAF ruled Pistorius out of competing in events, including the world championships, against so-called "able-bodied" athletes. Pistorius' legal team took the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the IAAF ruling (that Pistorius does get an advantage from his blades) was overturned on the basis they had not conclusively proven he gained an advantage.
We know Pistorius is slower out of the blocks and over the first 200m than "normal" 400m athletes - but gets faster over the second 200m, as his blades do their job. It appears to be swings and roundabouts.
It's a mark of Pistorius' extraordinary character and ability that he has managed to get to this level and ignite the debate; managing to blur the boundaries between Olympians and Paralympians. His first artificial legs were made when he was 17 months old. He used to go go-karting with his brother, using his legs as brakes. He was an enthusiastic seven-year-old footballer, passing the ball with his prosthetic limbs, winning acceptance as "one of the boys".
He was a keen cricketer ("I didn't need pads", he joked in one interview), played water polo, and was selected for the state tennis team, aged 11. He went to boarding school, enduring jibes and bullying before winning his spurs at rugby in his high school's third XV. He became a school legend when he was tackled and one of his legs came off - but that did not stop the determined Pistorius' path to the goal line.
His mother died when he was 15 and remains an inspiration. "She said I should always be content and not push myself and 'You must look after your legs that run so fast.'," he told the Daily Telegraph. "But at that time I hadn't even started sprinting."
He did in 2003 as part of his rehabilitation after a rugby injury. He quickly won national attention and a spot in the national championships; then the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, where he starred.
He set his heart on qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But, in 2007, the first wave of "unfair advantage" criticism came. Fighting the IAAF ban cost him training time and he didn't make the Olympic qualifying mark.
No such problems this time, although the criticism still rains down. Some point to other athletes benefitting from technology - like British 5000m and 10,000m runner Mo Farah who is seeking both gold medals in Daegu. Since he began training with former crack marathoner Alberto Salazar, Farah has used an anti-gravity treadmill, an underwater treadmill and a cryosauna.The contention is that Farah's rivals from poor African countries are not on a level playing field either.
It's a spurious argument. African athletes for years gained the benefit of training at altitude but they didn't turn up for races wearing devices. The same advantage was available to everybody; it's become commonplace.
Aimee Mullins, herself a double-amputee below the knee, is chef de mission for the US Paralympic team in London next year. She believes the criticism of Pistorius stems from prejudice: "If we allow a person, one who we view as our inferior, in whatever way, to play with us, and then that person beats us, what does that say about us?"
It's not about inferiors or superiors - but it is a sterling example of the emotion of this issue. The real villains are the legal interpretation of ambiguous IAAF wording and loopholes which obscure common sense. Pistorius is a courageous character - you try being on a planet, population: 1. But it's not really the point.
Maybe, no matter what happens in Daegu, Pistorius will head a wave of new "disabled" athletes who, like him, race on blades and set new marks. It is not difficult to foresee an upsurge in prosthetic technology that, one day soon, will see the disabled go faster than the "abled".
That's when we can say again that advantage doesn't come into it. It's just logic - two legs and two feet equals world championship athletes. Those without are also world championship athletes, but in a class of their own, racing against each other, maybe even at the Olympics rather than the Paralympics. Like against like.
