JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oscar Pistorius needs to run another 400-meter ‘A” qualifying time in the three months before the London Olympics to make history as the first amputee athlete to run at an able-bodied games.
Clarifying its 2012 qualifying criteria, South Africa’s Olympic Committee (SASCOC) said Wednesday that Pistorius had not yet qualified despite running inside the “A” time in July — which earned him a place at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea.
SASCOC chief executive Tubby Reddy said: “within three months of the games, if he (Pistorius) runs that time he qualifies.”
The double-amputee athlete ran a personal-best 45.07 seconds on his carbon fiber blades at a meet this year in Italy, the only time Pistorius has gone under the 45.25-second qualifying mark for the July 27-Aug. 12 London Olympics.