Blow to Oscar's Olympics dream

2007-12-19 15:42

Berlin - Oscar Pistorius, the self-described "fastest thing on no legs," has a considerable advantage over his sprinting rivals, a German university professor told Die Welt newspaper on Wednesday.

Gert-Peter Bruggemann, of the Institute of Biomechanics at Cologne University, has been tasked by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) with examining any advantage the South African Olympic hopeful has on his rivals using prosthetic limbs.

Pistorius has carbon fibre blades attached to both his legs below the knee and both Pistorius and the IAAF agreed he would undergo a series of tests and analyses.

He had hoped to compete in next year's Beijing Olympics against able-bodied athletes but after Friday's IAAF report and Bruggeman's findings, his chances look remote.

Bruggeman, who put Pistorius through a series of tests in November at the IAAF's request, told Die Welt: "He has a considerable advantage compared with athletes without prosthetic limbs who have undergone the same tests.

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

The 21-year-old Pistorius, dubbed by the press as the "Blade Runner", was fitted with his prosthetics when he was only 11 months old after a congenital disorder forced him to undergo the amputations.

- SAPA