The Cybathlon experience: beyond transhumanism to capability hybridization

Abstract

The Cybathlon is a new kind of competition that embraces disabled people who use advanced assistive technologies. The purpose of this essay is to interpret the Cybathlon not as a 'transhuman' sport for enhanced athletes but as a place for experimenting with 'capability hybridatization' of the self. We wish to show that the figure of the transhuman cyborg that dominates the media coverage of disabled athletes is an attempt to approximate the ablebodied standard. This figure is problematic because it excludes athletes who cannot meet it. We defend the idea that capability hybridization, on the other hand, does not seek to approach a standard, but aims to promote and legitimize variedly able bodies. This article will be organized in three stages. First, we will highlight the production of the transhuman cyborg at work in contemporary disability sport. Then, we will show that this transhuman cyborg is based on ableist and heteronormative conceptions of the body that are opposed to a postmodern definition of the cyborg. Finally, we will argue that the Cybathlon, as it currently exists, is not a showcase of this transhuman cyborg but, above all, a place to experiment with a form of capability hybridization.

Fairness, Regulation of Technology and Enhanced Human: A Comparative Analysis of the Pistorius Case and the Cybathlon

“…The latter is above all considered as a form of assistance, 'impairment compensation' rather than 'enhancing capacities'. However, although both of these organisations reject the presence of any possible enhancement, both of them participate, more or less directly, in the production of a transhuman figure (Richard and Andrieu 2019). Pistorius' liminal situation, stemming from the many medical tests which made him waver between Olympics and Paralympics, promoted the strengthening of a sports cyborg imagination (Smith 2015) surrounding his performances.…”

“…In this way, the Cybathlon openly claimed to be the only competition whose participants (named 'pilots' for the occasion) use powered prostheses. In so doing, the event contributed to rendering highly technologised sporting bodies legitimate, by playing the game of a cyborg demonstration (see Richard and Andrieu 2019). Simultaneously, the central place allocated to advanced assistive technology allowed the Cybathlon to differ in a second manner.…”

“…Indeed, whereas cyborg athlete imagination is based on a figure overcoming human abilities (running speed, jumping height etc. ), in the case of the Cybathlon, it is everyday skills that are performed (Richard and Andrieu 2019).…”

“…This is particularly true in the field of sports where overcoming boundaries (and the performance of others) is a fundamental value (Cléret and McNamee 2012). Athletes using advanced assistive technologies support the figure of the sports cyborg 1 as a hybrid being, made of flesh and technology (Howe 2011;Richard and Andrieu 2019). These athletes question the nontherapeutic (Wolbring 2012) use of assistive technology and the unfair advantage it procures.…”

“…16 The mirroring used by the organisers most certainly aimed to benefit from the public's keen interest in sporting events and from the media coverage that this induced. Nevertheless, in spite of this mirroring, and because of the technological issues at stake, the Cybathlon questioned the standards of the sporting world, as well as those of the Paralympics (Richard and Andrieu 2019;Wolbring 2018).…”