By Tom Degun

Oscar_Pistorius_celebrating_at_end_of_raceMarch 23 - South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has achieved the B qualification standard for the London 2012 Olympic Games in the 400 metres as he ran a personal best of 45.61sec at the at the Provincial Championships at the Nedbank National Championships for Physically Disabled in Rustenburg.


The 24-year-old double leg amputee sprinter, nicknamed the "Blade Runner", stormed to victory on the incredibly fast Olympia Park Stadium track and if selected by South Africa, Pistorius will become the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics.

"I am delighted that my new personal best of 45.61 is within the Olympic B qualification and it takes me that step closer to competing in the Olympics as well as the Paralympics in 2012," he said.

"It feels fantastic to have achieved a time that I knew I had in me and have been working towards for some time."

The four-time Paralympic gold medallist, who has confirmed his attendance at the 2011 BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester next month, has targeted the competing at the able-bodied World Championships in Daegu later this year as he steps up his preparations for London 2012.

"My main goal in 2011 is to qualify for the able-bodied World Athletics Championships in Daegu and the BT Paralympic World Cup is a very important event in my preparation process," he said.

"There is a year-and-a-half to go to the London Games and I need to put my head down and push for it.

"The event in Manchester will be the perfect stepping stone."

Should Pistorius compete at the London 2012 Olympics, he will follow South African compatriot Natalie Du Toit, the swimming single leg amputee, and Natalia Partyka, the table tennis player from Poland born with one arm ending just below her elbow, who competed at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing.

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