DOUBLE-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius has missed out on a place in South Africa's Olympic team for Beijing.
As well as falling short of the 400m qualifying standard Pistorius was also left off the relay team. Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene said four other South Africans had faster times, and two others were chosen as reserves.
Pistor
ius has battled with authorities for months, winning an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in May to allow him to compete against able-bodied athletes and more recently facing concerns that he could pose a danger to other athletes.
But the 21-year-old fell short of the 400m qualifying time of 45.55 seconds despite recording a personal best of 46.25 on Wednesday.
Pistorius's manager Peet Van Zyl said he hadn't heard any official word about the decision. However, he said considering Pistorius's recent times, he hadn't expected the runner to be asked to join the team.
"From the beginning, we knew that he had to qualify," Van Zyl said. "We didn't expect him to be granted any special opportunity or anything. The rules are the rules."
The International Olympic Committee said it was South Africa's decision to make. "They pick the athletes who they think should go to the games," IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said. The IAAF had said on Thursday that it fully supported Pistorius's bid to run at the Olympics, despite comments made earlier this week by general secretary Pierre Weiss expressing concerns that Pistorius would pose a danger because of the blade-like prosthetics he uses to run.
The comments "have no effect on the official eligibility of Oscar Pistorius, nor should they be misconstrued as a personal attack on Oscar," the IAAF said in a statement.
The full article contains 300 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
