F57 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics for people who compete in field events from a seated position. This class is for people with limb deficiencies not covered by other classes. It includes people who are members of the ISOD A1 and A9 classes. Events open to people in this class include the shot put, discus and javelin.
Definition
International Paralympic Committee defined this classification on their website in July 2016, " Athletes who meet one or more of the MDC for impaired muscle power, limb deficiency, impaired passive range of movement and leg length difference, who do not fit any of the previously described profiles, fall into this class." The Spectator Guide for the Rio Paralympics defines the class as, "wheelchair athletes (effects of polio, spinal cord injuries and amputations)" People competing in the seated position in this class have mobility limitations that cannot exceed 70 points.
Disability groups
Both people with amputations and spinal cord injuries compete in this class.
Amputees
People who are amputees compete in this class, including ISOD A1 and A9. In general, track athletes with amputations in should be considerate of the surface they are running on, and avoid asphalt and cinder tracks. Because of the potential for balance issues related to having an amputation, during weight training, amputees are encouraged to use a spotter when lifting more than .
Lower limb amputees
ISOD A1 classified athletes participate in T54, F56, F57 and F58. The nature of a person's amputations in this class can effect their physiology and sports performance. Lower limb amputations effect a person's energy cost for being mobile. To keep their oxygen consumption rate similar to people without lower limb amputations, they need to walk slower. People in this class use around 120% more oxygen to walk or run the same distance as someone without a lower limb amputation.
A study was done comparing the performance of athletics competitors at the 1984 Summer Paralympics. It found there was no significant difference in performance in times between women in A1, A2 and A3 in the discus, women in A1 and A2 in the javelin, women in A1 and A2 in the 100 meter race, men in A1, A2 and A3 in the discus, men in A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8 and A9 in the javelin, men in A1, A2 and A3 in the shot put, men in A1 and A2 in the 100 meter race, and men in A1, A2, A3 and A4 in the 400 meter race. Double below the knee amputees also have a competitive advantage when compared to double above the knee amputees. From the 2004 Summer Paralympics to the 2012 Summer Paralympics, there was no significant changes in performance times put up by male sprinters in 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter events.
Upper and lower limb amputees
Members of the ISOD A9 class compete in T42, T43, T44, F42, F43, F44, F56, F57, and F58. The nature of an A9 athletes's amputations can effect their physiology and sports performance. Because of the potential for balance issues related to having an amputation, during weight training, amputees are encouraged to use a spotter when lifting more than . Lower limb amputations effect a person's energy cost for being mobile. To keep their oxygen consumption rate similar to people without lower limb amputations, they need to walk slower. Because they are missing a limb, amputees are more prone to overuse injuries in their remaining limbs. Common problems with intact upper limbs for people in this class include rotator cuffs tearing, shoulder impingement, epicondylitis and peripheral nerve entrapment.
Les Autres
People who are Les Autres compete in this class. This includes LAF3 classified athletes. In general, Les Autres classes cover sportspeople with locomotor disabilities regardless of their diagnosis.
LAF3
In athletics, LAF3 competitors compete in F54, F55, F56, F57 and F58 events. These are wheelchair athletics classes. Athletes in this class have normal functioning in their throwing arm. While throwing, they can generally maintain good balance. Competitors in this class may also compete in T44. This is a standing class for people with weakness in one leg muscle or who have joint restrictions. At the 1984 Summer Paralympics, LAF1, LAF2 and LAF3 track athletes had the 60 meters and 400 meter distances on the program. There was a large range of sportspeople with different disabilities in this class at the 1984 Summer Paralympics.