Athletics: Amputee Leeper to miss
worlds over eligibility issue
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[September 09, 2019]
(Reuters) - American double
amputee Blake Leeper will not be eligible to compete in this month's
world championships while an advisory group determines his
eligibility, the IAAF, athletics' governing body, said on Saturday.
Leeper, who was born without legs below the knees, finished fifth in
the 400 meters at the U.S. championships in July which normally
would have qualified him for the Americans' world championships 4 x
400m relay squad.
But the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
said on Saturday that the 30-year-old will not be eligible for the
Sept. 27-Oct 6 championships in Doha.
"An application has been submitted by Mr Leeper to compete in the
2019 World Championships and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which is
under review by an advisory group," the IAAF said in a statement to
Reuters.
"A recommendation from the advisory group will be made later this
year so Mr Leeper will not be eligible to compete in this month's
WCHs."
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The advisory group will determine whether Leeper's prostheses give
him an advantage over other competitors and it will be Leeper's
burden to prove they do not, his lawyers said in a statement on
Thursday.
The attorneys represented South African double amputee Oscar
Pistorius, winning a 2008 ruling from the Court of Arbitration for
Sport (CAS) that he could race against able-bodied athletes.
This time, they have objected to the burden of proof being shifted
to Leeper, a silver medalist at the 2012 Paralympics.
"The IAAF placing the burden of proof on Mr. Leeper is inconsistent
with the precedent of Oscar Pistorius, in which the IAAF had the
burden of proof to show that Mr. Pistorius's prostheses provided him
with an overall competitive advantage," Leeper's lawyers said.
"[It was] a burden that the IAAF failed to establish which enabled
Mr. Pistorius to compete in IAAF events and the 2012 London
Olympics."
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![](../images/090919pics/sports63.jpg)
Paralympic athlete Blake Leeper runs with prosthetics legs to place
sixth in the 400m in 44.48 during the USATF Championships at Drake
Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Leeper himself also objected. "The IAAF placing the burden on
disabled athletes to prove that their prostheses do not provide an
overall advantage is wrong and unlawful," he said in the statement.
The IAAF said on Saturday it would not comment beyond its statement.
"The IAAF competition rules state clearly that mechanical assistance
to athletes is not allowed during athletics competitions, unless the
athlete can establish on the balance of probabilities that the use
of an aid would not provide him with an overall competitive
advantage," the IAAF told Reuters in July.
Leeper was allowed to compete in the U.S. championships on a
conditional basis, U.S. officials have said, but the IAAF has
declined to recognize his results this year.
"His results will not be ratified, because the athlete has not
provided any evidence to IAAF that meets the rule stated above nor
have the blades been classified under the new Maximum Allowable
Standing Height (MASH) formula," the IAAF said in July.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ian
Chadband)
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