'Blade Runner' wins Olympic chance

AN ATHLETE with no legs dubbed 'Blade Runner' has won the right to compete in the Beijing Olympics.

Oscar Pistorius, who runs on two Cheetah blades, had been banned from the event by athletics governing body the IAAF. It ruled the prosthetic limbs gave him an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes.

But yesterday the 21-year-old South African won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne and said he wants to run in the 400 metres.

The blades allow him to cover more ground per stride, reduce the build-up of lactic acid in muscles and expend less energy. But the court decided they simply made up for his disability compared with other athletes.

Pistorius finished second over the 400 metres at the South African national championships last year. He is less than a second short of the Olympic qualifying time with a personal best at the distance of 46.34 seconds, which would have won gold at every Olympic Games before 1932.

Welcoming the decision Pistorius said: "I am thrilled with the panel's findings and hope that it silences many of the crazy theories."