Oscar Pistorius of South Africa (L) runs next to Greg Nixon
of the US (R) and Jermaine Gonzales of Jamaica in their
men's 400m semifinal at the IAAF World Championships in
Daegu, South Korea. Photo: REUTERS/Mark Blinch
There was no Hollywood ending for double amputee Oscar
Pistorius in the 400m at the world championships, even if he
crossed the line last in his heat to cheers louder than those
for most gold medallists.
The South African's battle to overcome a series of legal and
performance obstacles and become the first amputee to run at
a major championships on his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs has
made him a sentimental favourite around the world.
The 40,000 packed into the Daegu Stadium gave the "Blade
Runner" a rousing welcome when he came out on to the track
for the third and last semifinal of the evening, just as they
had when he qualified through the heats on Sunday.
The 24-year-old needed to finish in the top four to have a
chance of a place in the final but when he came around the
final bend he was battling for last place with Demetrius
Pinder of the Bahamas.
Pinder pulled away to leave Pistorius to cross the line at
the back of the field in 46.19 seconds, more than a second
outside his personal best of 45.07.
Despite finishing last, Pistorius, who had expected to
struggle to reach the final, was certainly not disappointed
with his second race at a major international championships.
"I worked extremely hard to get here," he said. "I'm happy
with my performance tonight ... not as quick as I wanted to
be but it's great to have this platform to run on and it's
been an unbelievable experience. I'll be back for the relay."
Pistorius will be allowed to compete in the 4x400m relay for
his country as long as he runs the opening leg to avoid
endangering other athletes with the prosthetics.
The prosthetics replace the lower legs he had amputated when
he was less than a year old because of a congenital
condition.
American LaShawn Merritt, returning from a ban for a doping
violation, was again the quickest of the qualifiers in 44.76
as he was in the heats when he ran the best time of the year.
Jamaican Jermaine Gonzalez was second quickest in 44.99 ahead
of Belgian brothers Kevin and Jonathan Borlee, who will line
up against each other in Tuesday's final.
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