Yet the analogy between gaining an advantage from drugs versus an advantage gained from technology is one that has been drawn frequently enough to lead to the coining of the term ‘technology doping’.

“The best way you can get a quick little boost is by taking some form of anabolic whatever-the-heck, but what we're seeing in the amputee classification predominantly is what we're referring to as tech-doping: technology doping," Prince said. "Guys that were previously not competitive are now competitive only because they gave themselves extra blade height."

In traditional olympic and paralympic games, participants' equipment is strictly regulated to protect against so-called “technology doping.”

The question at hand is this: Do Pistorius’ prosthetic legs simply level the playing field, compensating for his disability, or do they give him a rather sizeable edge, via what some have come to term techno-doping?

CROWE: Norwegian speed skater Johann Koss is an Olympic gold medalist. Retired, he’s now trying to solve the problem of high-tech doping. He says it’s more than just cheating. It’s a major ethical problem.
JOHANN KOSS (World Anti-Doping Agency): Maybe in the future, can build wings on a human being so they can fly. Maybe want to combine animal and humans and to build other kind of types of people.