Pistorius denied Olympic place
Oscar Pistorius is likely to miss out on the Beijing games
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Monday, 14, Jan 2008 10:20
Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee bidding to race against able-bodied athletes in this summer's Olympics, has been banned from taking part.
A study commissioned by the IAAF found that the South African 400 metre runner, who wears hi-tech prosthetic limbs on both legs, uses 25 per cent less energy to run at the same speed as able-bodied rivals.
The dispute over the 21-year-old's eligibility for the Beijing games may not be finished however as Pistorius has already promised to take legal action to secure his place in the starting blocks.
He has dominated the Paralympic world with records at 100 metres and 200 metres as well as his specialist distance.
Despite his current personal best being a few tenths of a second outside the qualifying mark for Beijing, Pistorius is confident he could make up the required amount of time between now and the deadline for entry.
Pistorius' agent Peet van Zyl confirmed that the possibility of an appeal was being investigated.
"We are obviously very disappointed. We were really hoping that he would be allowed [to compete]," he told the BBC.
"The natural feeling from our side is to appeal the verdict. The onus is now on us to prove that he is not getting an advantage."
However it appears that it would now require a radical redesign of Pistorius' prosthetics, which in turn would likely slow his times and make qualification a far harder proposition, to appease the IAAF.