Double-amputee doesn't qualify but races for 2012

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius will not compete for South Africa against able-bodied athletes at the Beijing Olympics after failing to make the roster for the 1,600-meter relay team.

Pistorius, who recently won the right to compete against able-bodied athletes in an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, failed to meet the qualifying standard in the 400 meters. He had hoped to be chosen as an alternate for the 1,600 relay, but his name was not on the roster announced yesterday.

Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene said four runners had faster times, and two others were chosen as alternates.

Pistorius battled the International Association of Athletics Federations for the right to run. In May, the Court of Arbitration ruled against the IAAF, saying his carbon fiber prosthetic blades did not provide an unfair advantage against able-bodied athletes.

But Pistorius fell short of the 400 qualifying time of 45.55 seconds, despite running a personal best 46.25 on Wednesday at a meet in Lucerne, Switzerland. The 21-year-old Pistorius, who said his legal battles prevented him from focusing on training, had acknowledged it might be more realistic to aim for the 2012 London Olympics.

Pistorius plans to run at the Sept. 6-17 Paralympic Games in Beijing. He holds the Paralympic world record of 46.56 in the 400.

Efforts to reach Pistorius were not immediately successful. His manager, Peet Van Zyl, said considering Pistorius' recent times, he didn't expect 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 said Thursday that it fully supported Pistorius' bid to run at the Olympics, despite comments made earlier this week by general secretary Pierre Weiss. He expressed concerns that the blade-like prosthetics could cause injury to other runners while jockeying for position.

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.

On Wednesday, the New York legal firm of Dewey and Leboeuf, which represents Pistorius, threatened legal action against the IAAF. It demanded that the IAAF withdraw a statement that the body did not have the resources to check the legality of Pistorius' blades each time he ran.

Pistorius was born without fibulas - the long, thin outer bone between the knee and ankle - and was 11 months old when his legs were amputated below the knee.

Troy Engle, coach of the U.S. Paralympic track and field team, said he knew it was "a bubble decision" to add Pistorius to the South Africa relay team.

"He did get darn close, and he ran well, especially in Europe," Engle said in a telephone interview from Houston. "To come back as well as he did with limited preparation is a testament to his talent as an athlete."

•GymnasticsShayla Worley broke her right fibula, all but ending her chances of making the U.S. women's team for the Beijing Olympics. Worley still was being evaluated at a hospital near Huntsville, Texas, so the length of her recovery was unclear. The women's team leaves for Beijing on July 31, and competition begins Aug. 10. The injury is the latest blow for Worley, who began the year as a favorite for Beijing. Her right leg had been bothering her when she arrived at the Karolyi ranch for the two-day selection camp, and she heard a "pop" as she was warming up on balance beam. Meanwhile, gymnast Chellsie Memmel made a quick recovery after hurting her upper back on floor exercise. Memmel, whose head appeared to snap back when she bounced backward and out of bounds on her second tumbling pass, skipped vault and uneven bars but competed on balance beam, her final event.

Related topic galleries: Athletes, Multi-Sport Events, Uneven Bars, Arbitration, Trials, Vault, Fencing

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