Pistorius Fails Olympic Bid—This Time

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius will not compete against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics--at least in Beijing. According to the Associated Press (AP), the "Blade Runner" pounded out a personal record of 46.25 seconds in the qualifying trials for the 400 meter race, but crossed the finish line 0.7 seconds short of a spot on the South African team, ranking fifth overall. He had also hoped for the starter's post on the 1600-meter relay, a four-person event, but this morning, the team roster did not include his name. His name also was not on the alternates list.

Officially, Pistorius was cleared to run in any event, thanks to a decision from the Court of Arbitration of Sport, which in May reversed a ban from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The ban had attested that the high mechanical energy return of Pistorius' carbon-fiber running prostheses gave him an unfair advantage over competitors with natural legs. Pistorius appealed to the Court, whose secondary investigation found that other disadvantages faced by the runner, including a necessarily slow starting time, made up for any mechanical benefits provided by the legs, which are manufactured by Ossur, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Recent statements by IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss may have contributed to Pistorius not being listed on the relay roster. According to the AP, Weiss had expressed serious concern that the spike-footed blades might prove dangerous in the free-for-all that occurs in the final leg of Olympic relays, when runners are not restricted to their own lanes and oftentimes elbow for position. The IAAF has stated that the comments "have no effect on the official eligibility of Oscar Pistorius, nor should they be misconstrued as a personal attack on Oscar." However, Athletics South Africa President Leonard Chuene was quoted as saying that, regarding the relay team, four other South African runners had better times than Pistorius, and Pistorius "was not one of the two athletes chosen as alternates." The IAAF has already been threatened with legal action once this week, when Pistorius's legal team at Dewey and Leboeuf, New York, demanded that it withdraw a statement that the IAAF could not allocate resources to check the legality of Pistorius' prostheses each time he raced.

According to the AP, Pistorius still plans to race in Beijing, but at the Paralympic Games, September 6-17. Pistorius, dubbed "the fastest man on no legs," holds the Paralympic 400-meter world record at 46.56 seconds. The 21-year-old also still plans to be an Olympian, according to the AP, setting his sights on London for 2012.

His manager, Peet Van Zyl, has been quoted as saying, "From the beginning, we knew that he had to qualify.... We didn't expect him to be granted any special opportunity or anything. The rules are the rules."