Pistorius, one of the most recognisable Paralympians in the world, is eligible to compete against able-bodied athletes after he won a long court battle in 2008 regarding whether or not his carbon-fibre legs gave him an unfair advantage over able-bodied competitors.

But after overturning the ban against him competing against able-bodied athletes in May 2008, the "Blade Runner" missed out on qualifying for the 400 metres at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games by just a quarter of a second although he did go on to claim three gold medals at the Paralympics.

At 23, though, the South African remains determined to compete at an Olympic Games and claimed that the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester - which takes place from May 25 until 31 - is an integral part of his plan to make the qualifying time for the London 2012 Olympics.

Pistorius said: "I’m really looking forward to the BT Paralympics World Cup.

"It’s the opening race of the international calendar for me and I’m sure BT is going to put together an amazing competition like they have done in the past few years.

But long term, it’s a huge goal for me [to compete at the London 2012 Olympic Games] and it is competitions like the BT Paralympic World Cup, like the Commonwealth Games later this year and like the World Championships next year that are really going to give me the kind of footing and provide me with the stepping stones I need in order to be there.

"I missed the qualification time for the Beijing Olympics by a quarter of a second so I’ve got a bit of hard work ahead of me but I’ve got a great coach [Ampie Louw] and some really wonderful trainers and I have no doubt that they’ll get me to where I need to be in order to compete in the able-bodied Olympics as well as the Paralympics in 2012."

Pistorius claimss that Manchester is one of his favourite places to compete and that he has fond memories of the Paralympic World Cup.

He said: "As an athlete that doesn’t come for the UK, its always really awesome coming in and running against the best of the best.

"It’s a really nice track [in Manchester] and the people always come out and support which is fundamental for any athlete.

"It’s a world class event, the athletes are always in great shape and they really come out to do their best so hopefully I am not an exception to that rule."

Pistorius also revealed that after years of competing on the international athletics circuit, he is now as comfortable competing against able-bodied athletes as is he competing against disabled competitors.

He said: "I’ve been competing with able-bodied sprinters since 2004 at international level and this will be my fourth season competing against them.

"I’ve competed in some really big events with a lot of the top able-bodied sprinters and the response from them has always been really positive.

"A lot of my mates will be running [in the Olympics] in London in 2012 and hopefully, I’ll be lining up against them."

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