Paralympic jumper maintains Olympic hopes despite questions (Yahoo Sports)

Paralympic long jump champion Markus Rehm is still hoping to compete at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro despite a scientific study’s inconclusive findings on whether his carbon-fiber prosthesis gives him an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes. Wolfgang Potthast of the German Sport University in Cologne said Monday that it was ”difficult if not impossible” to determine whether the 27-year-old Rehm gets an advantage or not. The study conducted by the German Sport University along with the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo found that athletes with a running-specific prosthesis have an impaired ability in the run up but a better technique for the long jump, leaving open the question of whether a prosthesis helps or hinders the athlete.