Sept 3 (Reuters) – South Africa’s ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar
Pistorius has expressed regret over the timing of his outburst
following his shock loss to Brazil’s Alan Oliveira in the 200
metres final at the London Paralympic Games on Sunday.
Pistorius streaked into an early lead and was almost 10
metres ahead as the athletes came into the home straight but the
Brazilian launched a stunning fightback and surged to victory
over the final few metres.
The result left the South African double amputee, who was
defending his 100m, 200m and 400m Paralympic titles from
Beijing, seething and he claimed his opponent’s prosthetic
blades were too long.
In a statement on Monday, the sprinter stuck to his claim
but apologised for raising his concerns immediately after.
“I want to apologise for the timing of my comments but I do
believe that there is an issue here,” said the 25-year-old, who
last month became the first double amputee to run in the
Olympics and made the 400 metres semi-finals.
“I accept that raising these concerns immediately as I
stepped off the track was wrong.
“That was Alan’s moment and I would like to put on record
the respect I have for him.
“I am a proud Paralympian and believe in the fairness of
sport. I am happy to work with the IPC (International Paralympic
Committee) who obviously share these aims.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by John
O’Brien)
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