'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius to turn heads during Olympic debut in London

London, July 12 (ANI): Oscar Pistorius, also known as the 'blade runner' and 'the fastest man on no legs', is set to attract plenty of attention when he makes his debut at the London Olympics next month.

His participation in the Games is a victory in itself, as is his victorious battle to compete with abled-bodied athletes.

According to Sports24, Pistorius took his first steps towards realising his dream when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) declared him eligible to compete against abled-bodied athletes in May 2008.

This was a follow up to an earlier ban by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) after tests conducted at the Cologne Sports University ruled his J-shaped prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage.

Pistorius, however, challenged the findings and after further tests by his "own" scientists, CAS ruled in his favour.

Given little time to qualify after the ruling, Pistorius failed to book his place at the Beijing Olympic Games later that season and had to wait another four years for his dream to become a reality.

Pistorius recorded the qualifying mark once in the individual 400m event, and fell narrowly short of achieving the standard again to reach the stringent qualifying criteria.

As he was already included in the relay squad, however, as the fastest 400m sprinter in the country this season, the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) agreed to enter him in the individual event as well.

"To have been selected to represent Team South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the individual 400m and the 4x400m relay is a real honour," Pistorius said after he was named in the team.

"I am so pleased that years of hard work, determination and sacrifice have all come together," he added. (ANI)