CHINA/FILE: Double amputee Oscar Pistorius disappointed about not qualifying for Olympics, expects to excel at Paralympics

Record ID: 473630

  • Title: CHINA/FILE: Double amputee Oscar Pistorius disappointed about not qualifying for Olympics, expects to excel at Paralympics
  • Date: 8th September 2008
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (SEPTEMBER 5, 2008) (REUTERS) PARALYMPIANS ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ATHLETES AND MEDIA ATTENDING NEWS CONFERENCE SOUTH AFRICAN PARALYMPIAN OSCAR PISTORIUS SEATED FOR NEWS CONFERENCE PISTORIUS'S PROSTHETIC LEGS ATHLETES SEATED PISTORIUS SMILING ATHLETES SEATED PISTORIUS ARRIVING AT INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) OSCAR PISTORIUS, SOUTH AFRICAN PARALYMPIAN,
  • Embargoed: 23rd September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA2DOD7T4QVBV8TQYQ1E8N3AS0C
  • Story Text: As the Paralympic athletics events kick off in Beijing on Monday (August 8), double amputee Oscar Pistorius is hoping to take a clean sweep in the three events he is participating, and make up for the disappointment of not qualifying for the Olympic Games held in the Chinese capital two weeks earlier.
    Pistorius, who runs on a pair of carbon-fibre blades attached to both legs, began competing against able-bodied athletes in 2007 and was hoping to qualify for the 400 metre event at the Beijing Olympics.
    However, the South African, dubbed as "Blade Runner" failed to better the 400m qualifying time of 45.55 seconds at meetings in Europe over the summer, and also did not make the South Africa's 4x400 meters relay team, despite setting a personal best of 46.25 seconds.
    In an interview with Reuters on the eve of the Beijing Paralympic Games, Pistorius said he had been disappointed not to qualify for the Olympics but added there was no feeling from his part that the Paralympics was a second-class event, even if he wished to compete in both.
    The 21-year-old, who said lack of preparation time had contributed to him not qualifying for the Olympics, told Reuters he felt he had learned more valuable lessons in Paralympic events than in competing against able-bodied athletes, but considered his latest achievements a positive step for the future paralympic athletes.
    "In a way, you know, I think it was a huge disappointment, it was something that I'd been working for the last three years but you know, the opportunity was given back to me and I had two and a half months in order to try and qualify and although I didn't, you know, I think that it's opened the door for the future, you know the future of disabled sports and I think for me that alone is a great accomplishment. Although I didn't make the Olympics this time I'm hoping for the future I'm sure the door will be open then," he said.
    The sport's governing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned Pistorius from competing against able-bodied athletes in January this year, after ruling that his prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage.
    The ban was overturned by Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which criticized the tests carried out by the IAAF to measure the runner's performance levels, ruling that he could compete in able-bodied events because the carbon-fibre blades attached to both legs did not give him an advantage.
    CAS lifted the IAAF ban on May 16, but the lull in Pistorius's training left him without enough time to regain top form.
    Pistorius said the various court appearances had taken their toll on him, but added the ruling meant he would now be able to move on and concentrate on improving his performance.
    CAS said its ruling applied only to Pistorius and only for as long as he continued to use his existing model of prosthetics.
    "You know, we went to the court of arbitration for sports which is the highest body for ruling and they wouldn't make a decision, you know, it was an unanimous decision, all three arbitrators agreed that there is no way that the prosthetic leg can provide an advantage, would it be biomechanical or a metabolic type of reaction and we've covered all of that so it's something that definitely I know I can move forward on and not have to worry about. And as I said the legs have been around for over a decade and that's something that if I do get faster you can't all of a sudden say it is the prosthetics all of a sudden because we have proved that before," Pistorius said.
    Pistorius, whose both legs were amputated when he was 11 months old, won gold in the 200 metres and bronze in the 100 metres at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.
    He will compete in the 100, 200 and 400 at the Beijing Paralympics.
    Pistorius, who holds world records in all three events, said the athletics schedule for the Beijing Games would allow him to try meet his goal of three golds and break some of his previous world records.
    "I think the schedule is very open, we are running the 100 first and the final is the next day and then we've got a couple of days for the 200 and the next day is the 200 final and then at the end of the programme we've got a couple of days to rest for the 400 which is going to be quite a rough one. You know, I think if anything the 100 should be the most competitive, I mean there are quite a couple of guys here that I know are going to put in some really good times and you know, I think if anybody can make the final, it's anybody's game on that day it depends on who can put it out the fastest.
    I'm very confident and I've done my work and my preparation and I should be on the right road to meeting my goal of three goals," he said.
    Although focussing on his current quest, Pistorius admitted his sights were set on qualifying for London 2012 Olympics.
    He will be 25 years old then, a peak age for sprinters. And although, smiling broadly, he said he knew he had a long way to go before he would get even remotely close to making a final of the Olympic Games, at every race, he said, he was going out to better his own time.
    Pistorius competes in the T44 class for below the knee amputees and begins his Beijing gold hunt with the 100m heats on Monday evening.
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