''DOUBLE AMPUTEE TO COMPETE IN THE LONDON OLYMPICS"

By Abel Abel Inis
Africa Correspondent, SAM Daily Times

Oscar Pistorius is set to be the first Double amputee runner at the olympic games after being picked by South Africa for the 400m at London 2012. The 25-year old has also been selected for the 4X400m relay squad. Pistorius was born in Johannesburg and had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a congenital condition that meant he was born without lower leg bones. Pistorius appeared to have missed the chance of competing in the individual 400m after he narrowly failed to clock the 'A' standard time for a second time as required by South Africa's Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. Pistorius ran in the individual 400m at the 2011 world championships in South Korea but did not progress beyond the semi finals. Pistorius is known as the 'Blade Runner' because of the prosthetic carbon fibre limbs he runs with. He was cleared to compete against able-bodied athletes in 2008 when an IAAF ruling that his blades gave him unfair advantage was oveturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sports(CAS).