Decision on Pistorius Olympic bid delayed

LONDON: South African Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee who runs with carbon-fiber blades attached to his legs, may have to wait until Saturday before he learns if he can compete against able-bodied runners at the Beijing Olympics.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had been due to release a report on Thursday by Professor Peter Bruggeman of the German Sport University of Cologne who had supervised tests on Pistorius.

But IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said on Wednesday that Pistorius had been given until midnight on Thursday to respond to Bruggeman's findings.

"The IAAF is not likely to make any announcement until receiving Oscar's response, so probably not until the 12th of January," Davies said.

Remarks made recently by Bruggeman to the German newspaper Die Welt suggest the man dubbed the "blade runner" will be disappointed.

"He has a considerable advantage compared with athletes without prosthetic limbs who have undergone the same tests," Bruggeman was quoted as saying.

"The difference is several percentage points and I did not think the findings would be so conclusive."

In 2007, the IAAF amended its rules to ban the use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device".

Experts studied video analysis of Pistorius and other runners after IAAF president Lamine Diack said the athlete had improved so much that his prosthetics needed to be analyzed carefully.

"We cannot permit technical aids that give one athlete an unfair advantage over another," Diack said in a statement.

Pistorius, 21, who holds the double-amputee world records in the 100m, 200m and 400m, said in a statement that he had welcomed the investigation.

"There is much at stake personally and for the future of all amputee athletes and I applaud the IAAF for recognizing that," he said.

"By aligning experts from prosthetics and biomechanics I believe we will be able to put this issue to rest one way or the other."

Last July Pistorius ran in the 400 B race at the Golden Gala in Rome, finishing second. Two days later he finished last in wet conditions in Sheffield, Britain and was then disqualified for running out of his lane.

He won a gold and bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/11/2008 page24)