June 29 (Reuters) – Double amputee Oscar Pistorius missed
out on Olympic qualification by 0.22 seconds in his final 400
metres qualifying run at the African athletics championships in
Porto Novo on Friday.
Pistorius, who competes wearing carbon fibre prosthetic
blades, needed to run the A qualifying time of 45.30 seconds but
placed second in the 400 final in a time of 45.52.
South Africa’s Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee
had set June 30 as the cut-off point for athletes to qualify for
the Games so the African championships had been slated as
Pistorius’ last chance to ensure his place.
“”Thank you to everyone for your support! I came 2nd in the
final of the African championships with a 45.52s. Was a rough
week and I’m blessed,” Pistorius, who was chasing his dream of
becoming the first double-amputee to compete on the track at an
Olympics, said on his Twitter account.
The 25-year-old achieved the ‘A’ qualifying time when he
clocked 45.20 in March but Athletics South Africa (ASA) require
their athletes to go under the time twice, with one of them
being at an international meet.
Pistorius became the first amputee athlete to compete at the
world championships last year in Daegu and his hopes of
competing at the Olympics may not be completely over as he could
still be picked in the 4×100 relay team.
ASA President James Evans told Reuters in a telephone
interview that the South African relay teams would probably be
announced on Monday (July 2) while playing down the significance
of Pistorius missing out on automatic Olympic qualification.
“I think the bigger story is that Oscar has won a silver
medal at a continental championships,” he said.
The London Olympics start on July 27
(Reporting by Jason Humphries in Durban, Editing by Tom
Bartlett)
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