Pistorius to appeal IAAF ban
2008-01-14 15:35
Johannesburg - South African double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius cancelled a training session on Monday to prepare his appeal of a decision by world athletics body IAAF barring him from competing in the Beijing Olympics.
The IAAF shot to pieces Pistorius' dream of competing in the Olympics after finding that his prosthetic limbs gave him a "demonstrable mechanical advantage" over able-bodied athletes, in contravention of an IAAF rule on technical aids.
Pistorius' agent Peet van Zyl told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the blond Pretoria-based sprinter would not be commenting on the IAAF report before taking legal advice because "anything we say could end up in the Court of Arbitration (for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland)."
But 21-year-old Paralympian nicknamed the Blade Runner because he runs on carbon-fibre blades has already vowed to fight the decision "to the highest levels."
Pistorius had been due to continue his training at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria on Monday afternoon, but instead pulled out to discuss the IAAF report with his lawyer, his agent said.
Last week van Zyl said he had already discussed avenues of appeal with the IAAF. In the first instance Pistorius might request that the IAAF conduct more tests, he said. As a last resort, the case might end up before the Lausanne court.
'Considerable advantage'
Monday's IAAF decision came as little surprise after German professor Peter Brueggemann, commissioned by the IAAF to test Pistorius' performances on his Cheetah Flex-Feet, said recently he felt the blades gave him a "considerable advantage."
Speaking to reporters on Friday Pistorius reiterated his belief that his prostheses did not give him not "an unfair advantage" and vowed: "I will not stand down."
According to Pistorius, experts on amputees he consulted felt the data collected by Brueggeman "considers too few of the variables that need to be examined to make a decision of this magnitude."
In the meantime, the world-record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres for the physically disabled will continue training for the Paralympics in Beijing.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said it accepted the IAAF's decision barring Pistorius from taking place in any IAAF-organised events.
"If the rules say he has an unfair advantage then it's an unfair advantage. We have to respect the decision," Mark Alexander, Sascoc vice-president said.
"That's what sport is about. Sport is a fair thing," he added. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA