Pistorius Still Eyeing Beijing

Oscar Pistorius, the 400m Paralympic sprinter dubbed "the fastest man on no legs," has begun his bid to prove that his prosthetic limbs do not give him an advantage. The South African remains determined he will be competing at this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing as he begins his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.

"If the blades give an advantage," Pistorius insisted to the U.K.'s Guardian, "why are the other Paralympic athletes not running the times I am achieving?" The Paralympic world record-holder at 100m, 200m, and 400m refused to give in after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled against him in January following its official study into the use of his Cheetah Flex-Feet running legs manufactured by Ossur.

The IAAF had sent Pistorius for a series of tests to Cologne with Gert-Peter Brueggemann, a biomechanics professor. His findings revealed that the prosthetic blade used 25 percent less energy than able-bodied runners at the same speed. Since then, Pistorius, 21, has called in expert help from France and the United States and insisted he has evidence to show that he should be allowed to compete alongside able-bodied athletes.

He said: "I don't know what the motives are for the IAAF making the decisions they did, but...things are going to unravel and I hope for a better outcome. There is a lot of discrimination against disabled people and I don't think all the variables were considered."

The CAS hearing is scheduled to last two days, and Pistorius is likely to know the outcome within a month. But even if he is allowed to compete in Beijing, then he will be faced with the tough problem of actually qualifying for the Games. The Olympics in Beijing are 100 days away as of April 29 and he stills needs to achieve a 400m qualifying time of 45.95 seconds. His best, the Paralympic world record, is 46.56.