ABC news story on Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius is a double-amputee sprinter specializing in 400m. He holds the 100, 200, and 400 meter Paralympic world record of 10.91, 21.58 and 46.56 seconds respectively

Known as “Blade Runner” from his artificial lower legs, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles due to congenital absence of the fibula in both legs, when he was 11 months old

It’s always been his dream to run in the Olympics. So when he seek to run for such qualification, he was denied.

A ban was imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations, stating that his J-shaped carbon-fibre prosthetics called the “Cheetah Flex-Foot” give him an advantage over able-bodied runners

But recently he won his appeal at The Court of Arbitration for Sport where the IAAF ban was overturned. He can now compete at the Olympics

Of course he has not yet qualified. He has to run 45.55 seconds or faster in the 400m. That’s the event he’s trying out for, as that’s the closest mark that will get him a ticket to Beijing, compared to his other events

On 13 July 2007, during the Golden Gala in Rome, he was able to compete in a able-bodied event for the first time

Currently his personal best is 46.56 seconds, and he need to shed off around a second to qualify

Oscar will run in Milan on July 2 and the Golden Gala meet in Rome on July 11 to bid his Olympic historic participation. Even if he fails to qualify in the 400m individual event, he can still make it to Beijing, running for his 4×400m South African team

The lad has also mentioned, aside from running in the Olympics, he would also take part in the September 6-17th Paralympic Games at Beijing too