Pistorious Olympic dreams dashed
Friday, 18 July 2008 14:24Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene confirmed Oscar Pistorius has 'no chance' of competing at next month's Olympics after the double-amputee sprinter failed to achieve the qualifying time.
Pistorius, known as 'Blade Runner' due to his prosthetic legs, ran a personal best of 46.25seconds over 400 metres when finishing third at an international meeting in Lucerne on Wednesday night but fell short of the 45.55secs Olympic 'A' qualifying mark he required.
The 21-year-old therefore misses out on a place in South Africa's team for Beijing.
'Yes, these reports are true, he did not qualify,' Chuene told PA Sport. 'He did not qualify in any way because the athletes that have been selected have all run faster than him.
'The team was selected on merit and nothing else. The ones with the fastest times are in the team, period.
'It was not selected under special terms or treatment, but it was any athlete that ran within the qualifying time.'
Pistorius' failure to achieve the qualifying mark meant the decision was out of the ASA's hands, and Chuene insists he will not be called upon even if an athlete withdraws.
'The standards are obviously IAAF and Olympic standards, so it's not us that determines these standards,' he said.
'There is no chance that he will make it even if someone pulls out. We allowed him to run on the 16th for the final time, where he did not qualify and that was the end.'
Athletics' world governing body, the IAAF - who lost a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in May to prevent Pistorius from competing against able-bodied athletes - insisted on Thursday they would support the runner if he earned a place in South Africa's Olympic team.
Despite Friday's setback, Pistorius does plan to head to the Chinese capital later this year - to take part in the Paralympic Games in September.
