The 24-year-old South African became the first double leg amputee to compete at the World Athletics Championship in Daegu, which concluded this weekend, although debate still rages about whether his prosthetic legs give him an unfair advantage over the able-bodied athletes.

"Paralympic athletics gives us a really interesting case study for the use of biotechnologies in enhancing human abilities," McNamee told the VISTA conference.

"In a way, Pistorius' prosthetically enhanced body and his prosthetically enhanced performance raises questions about what we think athletic achievement and identity should be all about.

"It raises the question about what kinds of technologies can you have in Paralympic sport because I don't think anyone wants a situation analogous to formula one racing where what runs the event is who's got the best technology."

McNamee also considered to what extent Pistorius' participation at the able-bodied World Championships should be considered a benefit for the Paralympic Movement.

"I feel a little ambivalent," McNamee said.

"On the one hand, Pistorius has been very successful for the Paralympic Movement by bringing to the attention of the world, not just the sports world, a range of issues that are important for athletes with disabilities to do with equality, status, identity and values that I think a lot of people would have been ignorant of.

"But on the other hand, I feel that there may be a bit of a cost as well.

"If there were more people like Pistorius or Natalie Du Toit, who have participated at an elite level in both disabled and able-bodied sports, what would that do to the Paralympic Movement?


"Would it somehow devalue it or degrade it?

"Would other athletes with disabilities still want to compete against them?"

McNamee highlighted that the media and the consuming public have a narrow definition of what the athletic ideal should look like and that they do not recognise and value some the achievements of athletes with disabilities who have very high dependencies.

"What might look from the outside like a simple game of skill might take phenomenal determination, tenacity, skill, training and dedication," he said.

"Boccia is one of those sports.

"When I'm watching wheelchair racing, I pretty much get what it's about, but I don't understand the nuances, the subtleties, the techniques and the strategies.

"Maybe the Movement itself has got to get someone to talk about the strategies and techniques, what's difficult about doing it.

"What kind of wheelchairs do and don't they use?

"There's an obligation on behalf of both the Paralympic Movement and the media to educate a broader sports spectatorship.

"It's really difficult, because part of that emotional response from the spectators may be one of pity.

"However, as people with disabilities will tell you very quickly, that's condescension.

"Paralympians don't want pity, but it's hard for people, who aren't educated about the norms and values of this community, to know how to make an educated emotional response.

"One wants to be compassionate, but that can easily slide into condescension.

"Admiration is absolutely the right emotional response to fantastic performances."

With just under one year to go until the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and with tickets going on sale from September 9, McNamee is hoping he will be able to experience some of the Paralympic emotion first hand.

"I think it's going to be absolutely brilliant," he said.

"I understand over a million people have already registered interest in tickets and that's just fantastic."

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