Blade Runner to make history at the Olympics

JOHANNESBURG - Agence France-Presse

South African Oscar Pistorius will be the first double amputee athlete to compete at the Olympics as he was included in his country’s 4x400-meter relay team. AFP photo

Oscar Pistorius will become the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics after being included yesterday in the South African 4x400-meter relay team for 2012 London Games, an official said.

The 25-year-old’s selection comes five days after conceding defeat in a battle to run in the 400m at the Games as he finished 0.22 of a second outside the qualifying mark of 45.30 seconds when coming second at the African championships in Benin.

Pistorius clocked 45.20 at a meet in Pretoria last March, but could not repeat the feat at an international meet, a requirement for selection in the South African team.

Called the ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘The Fastest Man on no legs’, Pistorius was part of the South African 4x400m relay squad that came second at the 2011 world championships in South Korea although he did not run in the final.

There had been fears that South Africa would not send a relay team as no athlete qualified for the 400m and the world championship silver medal-winning team has been hit by poor form and injuries.

Pistorius runs with carbon-fibre artificial ‘blades’ and was cleared to compete at top level in 2008 when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned an IAAF ruling that his blades gave him an unfair advantage.

The South African had both legs amputated below the knee before turning one-year-old because of a congenital condition that meant he was born without lower leg bones.

Having failed to qualify for the 400m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics he went on to compete at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea, where he made the 400m semifinal and won a silver in the 4x400-meter relay.

However, his omission from the relay team for the final left him venting his anger at South African officials.

Pistorius, a three-event defending champion, will also compete at the Paralympic Games in London in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m relay.

“I am extremely excited about the Paralympic Games in London and a big focus for me will be defending my three titles as well as being part of the South African team competing for a world record in the 4x100m relay at the Paralympics,” he said.