COLOGNE, Germany (AP) – Paralympic long jump champion Markus Rehm says he 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.
Rehm is hoping to compete at both the Olympics and the following Paralympics. To become eligible under international rules, Rehm must prove that his prosthesis gives him no advantage.
Rehm is aiming to be the second athlete with a carbon-fiber prosthesis to compete at the Olympics and Paralympics after South African runner Oscar Pistorius in 2012.