Eight-time Paralympic medalist and double听amputee Blake Leeper aims to run in the 2020 Olympics, competing against athletes with two natural legs. His eligibility could hinge in part on findings by CU Boulder researchers.听
Leeper,听who ranks fourth in the U.S. in the 400 meter run, traveled to campus Aug. 19 to meet with CU's Alena Grabowski听(Kines鈥�98; PhD鈥�07), assistant professor of integrated physiology and director of the Applied Biomechanics Laboratory. Grabowski has听worked with some of the world's most famous amputee-athletes, including听former South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius,听in their attempts to prove they should be allowed听to compete alongside听athletes with natural legs.
Her听current challenge?听Proving whether or not the prosthetics give Leeper an unfair advantage.
During his visit to CU's Balch Fieldhouse, Grabowski and her team gathered听data they'll need to make the assessment. Their conclusions could influence whether听sporting authorities deem Leeper eligible to participate in the 2019 World Championships and听the 2020 Olympic听Games in Tokyo.
Leeper, 28, was born without the lower portion of his legs. At a race in Prague in听June, he ran 400 meters听in 44.42 seconds, among the fastest times by any runner听this year.
Read more about Grabowski's work in the 2018 Summer听issue of the Coloradan.
听
Photos by Glenn Asakawa/University of Colorado and Amanda Clark
听
Related Articles
McKinley Wright Is Here to Lead
CU's Star Student-Athletes
