Oscar Pistorius's hopes of going to Beijing as a member for the South African Olympic team are getting dimmer. He ran the 400 meters in 46.25 at a meet in Switzerland today, 0.70 seconds slower than the qualifying time he needed to gain entry to the event during the Games. The South African Olympic Committee gave him until July 17th to make the qualifying time. They can still choose him as a member of the 400 meter relay team but that's his last chance at running in Beijing.
"It's up to the (South African) federation but I know there are one or two guys hoping to make the squad who have not done as good as 46.25 this year so I'll just have to see when I get home."If Pistorius is selected, it would be over the objections of the International Association of Athletics Federations. The organization said Tuesday that they would prefer Pistorius not be picked for the team. They couched their complaint as one of safety for Pistorius and other runners but it's more likely that this all goes back to their initial ruling about Pistorius's eligibility for the Olympics. They think that he's gained some kind of mechanical advantage thanks to his prosthetics and they want to close the door to him and other runners in his position.
