Blake Leeper Permitted to Race in USATF Outdoor Championships While he Pursues Application to IAAF to Compete Against Non-Disabled Athletes

Double amputee athlete Blake Leeper will be permitted to compete today in the 400-meter race at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships as he pursues his application with the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) to compete against non-disabled athletes. Mr. Leeper has retained attorneys Jeffrey Kessler, David Feher and the law firm of Winston & Strawn to file an application with the IAAF, with supporting expert testing information, establishing that Mr. Leeper has no overall competitive advantage with his prosthetics against non-disabled athletes and thus should be permitted to compete in all IAAF and USATF sanctioned races, including the Olympics. 

The IAAF has advised Mr. Leeper that, pending the determination of his application, the IAAF’s position is that no mechanical aid is permitted to be used in IAAF competitions, but that Mr. Leeper may compete with mechanical aids in accordance with IAAF rules, i.e., only in certain  competitions (but not in the World Championships or Olympic Games)  and only on the condition that Mr. Leeper’s results are listed separately to those of non-disabled athletes

Mr. Leeper made the following statement: “It has been my dream to qualify for the Olympics to compete against the world’s best 400-meter runners, and I will do everything in my power to make that possible. Disabled athletes should be given the same chance to compete as the non-disabled.”

Mr. Kessler and Mr. Feher have previously represented double-amputee 400m runner and 2012 Olympian Oscar Pistorius in successful proceedings in the Court of Arbitration for Sport establishing that Mr. Pistorius had no overall competitive advantage against non-disabled runners and thus was entitled to compete.