Pistorius wide of mark with disrespect claims: IAAF

LONDON: Athletics governing body the IAAF has hit back at claims from South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius that it does not respect disabled athletes.

Double amputee Pistorius, who runs with carbon fibre blades attached to both legs below the knees, raced against able-bodied runners in the 400 meters at the IAAF British Grand Prix in Sheffield on Sunday, finishing last on a rain-soaked track.

He was later disqualified for running outside his lane.

The 20-year-old hopes to be able to compete in the Olympics in Beijing next year, although the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is still looking into whether his blades give him an advantage.

"They haven't been in contact with me ... they should be working with me. They don't seem to have any respect for Paralympic sport," Pistorius was quoted as saying by the BBC after competing in Sheffield.

The IAAF said Pistorious had no grounds for his comments.

"We have been in contact with Pistorius's team and his manager and have had a few emails from people connected to Oscar, including the company that manufactures his prosthetics, so it's really not true that we have not been in contact," IAAF communications director Nick Davies told BBC Radio.

"Also to say that the IAAF is disrespectful to disabled athletes is frankly nonsense. We already have disabled athletes competing in our events."

Asked whether Pistorius, the double amputee world record holder in 100m, 200m and 400m, would be banned from competing against able-bodied athletes wearing his blades, Davies said it was still too early to say.

"We are open-minded. We would like to get Oscar into a laboratory where we can do more detailed testing and we hope he will actually stop the sort of confrontational attitude he has with us and realise we are also doing our job," Davies said.

"The whole world does not centre round Oscar Pistorious. We have all our other work to do but we want to be fair to him and give him a chance."

In March the IAAF introduced a rule outlawing technical aids, although it allowed Pistorius to continue running while further investigations are carried out.

Agencies

(China Daily 07/17/2007 page24)