Superhuman Sports Dismantles the Barrier Between the Olympics and Paralympics

　Following the Olympic and Paralympic games in Rio, next year the Winter Olympics will be in Pyeongchang.

If an olympiad is a superhuman, then a paralympian is also a superhuman. In the Paralympics, there are many contests which involve wheelchairs or artificial legs. The tools that handicapped people use allow them to come closer to what it’s like to be an able-bodied person, they bring a minus closer to zero.

　Gold medalist Markus Rehm of Germany leaped 8m40cm at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, held in Doha, Qatar. The gold medal at the Rio Olympics was for 8m38cm. Paralympians are already exceeding Olympians. The day when the Paralympic Games exceeds the Olympic Games is coming.

  The pioneer was Oscar Pistorius who has two artificial legs. In 2008, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the judgment of the International Association of Athletics Federations, and Pistorius was approved for participation in the “Olympics”.

At the London Olympics he competed in the men's 400m and 4x400m relay. At the Paralympics immediately after, he competed in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x100m relays. He competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic games.

  And, the artificial legs of both Pistorius and Rehm were considered cool. People with artificial legs are no longer pitiable, but their artificial limbs are a testament to these admirable, bright, strong men and women.

  “There is no longer a barrier separating the Olympics and the Paralympics. So why don’t we combine the Olympics and Paralympics into one competition.” “Wait, that wouldn’t be fair. Even if the human body is inferior to machines, there is worth in a competition restricted to the unadorned body. We should keep them separate.”

“Eyeglasses correct your vision. They are a tool to aid people with bad eyesight. But those who wear glasses are still allowed to participate in the Olympics. If that’s the case, what’s wrong with taking corrective measures for the limbs?”

“Wait a second, this is different from one's sense of hearing or sense of sight. Glasses have become so commonplace that they are even used just as a fashion accessory.  The status of artificial limbs is completely different.”

  This is not an easy debate. It’s all well and good for the Paralympics to exceed the Olympics, but it’s possible that the other softer barriers that were overlooked on the way to that aim, will only become harder.

  Rehm originally was hoping to take part in the Rio Olympics, but he was not given the OK so he ended up competing in the Paralympics. Due to “political circumstances” Rehm had to abandon his hopes of competing in the Olympics, in other words he was impeded by the barrier of regulations.

  He said that, “I think that if we try to gradually change the current situation where the Olympics and Paralympics are completely separate, new possibilities and aspirations might come into view.” I agree with him.

　  However, in the current situation, from our perspective, paralympians are the ones who have attained the status of a privileged class. Because if you look at Olympians as naked superhumans, and Paralympians as machine-enhanced superhumans, we can participate in the former but not the latter.

　  The door to the Olympics is open to any able-bodied person who wants to participate, but if you can’t become a superhuman you will have to give up on participating. But with the Paralympics, you can’t participate as an able-bodied person, and paralympians are currently the most formidable of superhumans. This is unfair.

  There are some events such as wheelchair basketball where participation is allowed. But, if you want to compete with an artificial leg like Rehm, your only option is to cut your leg off. You could cut it off, but that's not very satisfying.

  That is probably because the Olympic sports are based on ancient sports and the sports of agrarian societies. Let’s repurpose sports for the 21st century and the information age. Lets design a new kind of sports from scratch, so that the able-bodied, the disabled, men and women, young and old, olympians, and paralympians, far and wide can all participate under the same rules.

  Drone races, bubble jumper, HADO, Chariott, Hover Crosse...We at the Superhuman Sports Society are developing games that will dismantle the barrier between the Olympic and Paralympic games. Looking forward to the Tokyo 2020 we are focusing all of our strength on this task. We hope you’ll look forward to our results.