Blades are one-of-a-kind lower prosthetics for amputee athletes
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Chosen Cebuano amputee athletes will have the opportunity to own one-of-a-kind lower prosthetic limbs called ‘blades’ through the Blade Running Clinic today, Saturday, December 9, 2023, at the SM Seaside City Cebu Cube Wing.
The running clinic is a collaborative event between the multi-titled persons with disabilities (PWDs) dragon boat team, the Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team, Port Management Council of the Philippines (SportPhil), and the Japan-based company Xiborg.
Xiborg, founded by Ken Endo, is known in Japan for manufacturing innovative and cutting-edge blade prosthetic lower limbs for amputee athletes.
Over the years, Xiborg has visited countries around the world for its “Blade for All” program, a project that provides blade prosthetics to amputee athletes while making it affordable for everyone.
Blades have become one of the go-to lower prosthetic limbs for amputee athletes, particularly runners and sprinters, due to being made from carbon fiber engineered to be light and bouncy, allowing users to achieve optimal performance compared to conventional prosthetics.
This time, PADS’ amputee athletes will get to test and demonstrate this device to further enhance their athletic performance through today’s event.
In addition to testing, the event will include a clinic, forum, and workshop featuring running coaches along with Endo.
Besides Endo, Cebu Doctors University’s Dr. Renald Ramiro, the dean for rehab science, and SportPhil founder Geraldine Go-Bernardo, along with sponsors, will grace the event.
Blades have been used for many years now by top athletes from around the world.
The most famous of them is undoubtedly Oscar Pistorius, the South African professional sprinter who became popular for his exploits in and outside of sports. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old as a result of a congenital defect.
He was ranked No. 1 in the 100, 200, and 400 meter sprints for double amputees and was even part of the South African men’s 4×400 relay team to the 2024 Athens Olympics.
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