Oscar Pistorius (born November 22, 1986) is a South African Paralympic runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius is the double amputee world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres events and runs with the aid of carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. His artificial lower legs, while enabling him to compete, have also generated claims that he has an unfair advantage over other runners. In 2007, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) amended its competition rules to ban the use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device". It claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius, and are monitoring his track performances using high-definition cameras to determine whether he actually has an advantage.
On July 13, 2007, Pistorius ran in the 400m B-race at the Golden Gala in Rome and was placed second with a time of 46.90s. Two days later, on July 15, 2007, he ran in the 400m race at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield. Pistorius finished last in wet conditions and was later disqualified for running out of lane.
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Pistorius sprinted to the gold medal and world record in the 200m and settled for bronze in the 100m while competing against single amputees in the T44 class.
Pistorius's next goal? Representing South Africa at next year's 'able-bodied' Olympics in Beijing.
text taken from:
www.news24.com
Living by the mantra "I'm not disabled, I just don't have any legs", Pistorius's rise to the top of his sport has been nothing short of remarkable.
After being forced to quit playing tennis and water polo thanks to an ACL knee injury suffered on the rugby field some three years ago, Pistorius turned his attentions to the track.
Mere months after being fitted with a pair of carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs, known in athletics circles as the 'Cheetah' and imported from the United States, Pistorius was selected for the South African team to travel to the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.
