Oscar Pistorius: London Olympics 2012 Relay Green Light Gives Double Amputee Runner Medal Hope

Oscar Pistorius, the first double amputee runner to qualify for the Olympics, has overcome another obstacle in his quest to make history at the London 2012 Olympics.

The South African 400-metre sprinter has been told he will be allowed to run any of the four stages of the 4x400m relay team.

Organisers were concerned that the carbon fibre blades that have replaced his lower legs could harm other runners during the baton changeover.

But at a council meeting of the International Athletics Federation members decided that Pistorius could choose any part of the race he wished to compete in.

The decision goes against that made by the IAAF at the 2011 world championships in South Korea, when Pistorius was told he could only run in the first leg.

"It made for a very unprofessional decision. I was the quickest athlete in the country. I will never understand the decision and yes, I am bitter about it," he said afterwards.

Although Pistorius will be competeing in the individual competition on 4 August, his most realistic chance of a medal will come with the relay.

He said: "I don't know which leg I am going to run, but I am ready to run whichever they ask me to."

In a spectacular career that has seen the 25-year-old athlete defy a congenital disability that caused both of his legs to be amputated when he was 11 years old, Pistorius has grown used to fighting against the tide.

Medal hopes

Pistorius was banned from running in able-bodied events by the IAAF in 2007 as his blades were believed to give him an advantage over an organic leg.

He appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the decision was revoked in 2008, the same year he took the Paralympic gold medal in the 100m, 200m and 400m competitions.

In July 2011 he ran a 400m time of 45:07, which meant he hit the A-qualifying standard required for both the 2011 world championships and the 2012 Olympics.

He said: "My mother used to tell us in the mornings, 'Carl put on your shoes, Oscar you put on your prosthetic legs, and that's the last I want to hear about it.

"I grew up not really thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes."