From Bloomberg News, the New York Times and elsewhere:

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal to be eligible to compete in the Olympics using the carbon-fiber prosthetics that have gained him the nickname “Blade Runner.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport today overturned a ban on the 21-year-old South African runner by the International Association of Athletics Federations, which said studies found the prosthetic blades gave him an unfair advantage.

… Pistorius, a South African, was born without the fibula in his lower legs and with defects in his feet. His legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. He has set Paralympic world records in the 100, 200, and 400 meters.

“I am ecstatic,” Pistorius told reporters in Milan, Italy, The Associated Press reported. “When I found out, I cried. It is a battle that has been going on for far too long. It’s a great day for sport. I think this day is going to go down in history for the equality of disabled people.”

See also: Amputee Du Toit qualifies for Beijing.

South African amputee Natalie Du Toit qualified for the Beijing Olympics on Saturday after she finished fourth in the 10km race in the Open Water World Championships.

The 24-year-old, who lost her left leg when she was hit by a car while riding her scooter in 2001, clocked a time of two hours two minutes 7.8 seconds, just 5.1 seconds behind winner Larisa Ilchenko of Russia.

Earlier posts here.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 9:54 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, exercise/sports, law, limb loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.