Having no legs is generally considered a handicap when you're running, but the International Association of Athletics Federations will take steps this weekend to ban a double amputee from their events.
Oscar Pistorius relishes being called the "fastest man on no legs". His feats have attracted the attention of actor Tom Hanks, who is said to be interested in purchasing the rights to his story.
The South African won Paralympic 200m gold in Athens and holds the world record at 100, 200 and 400m. On Sunday he was second in his national championships, with a time of 46.56 seconds (400m). No able-bodied Scot on two legs has run as fast since 2003, and this time would have won the Scottish championships 20 times in the past 21 years.
The event in Durban was South Africa's able-bodied trial for the World Championships in Osaka this year. Though just outside the qualifying standard, it presents a possibility that he could be selected for Japan. He also hopes to run in the Beijing Olympics next year.
However, the Pretoria student will almost certainly be disappointed. Nick Davies, head of communications for the world athletics body, said yesterday their rules were under review as a direct consequence of his achievements, and acknowledged a potential legal challenge.
"Our medical, technical, and juridical commissions have looked at this," said Mr Davies, speaking from Mombassa. "There's no rule to exclude someone with a prosthetic at the moment, but our council will discuss it this weekend at the World Cross-country Championships. Without pre-judging their deliberations, it seems likely we will exclude any artificial technological aid. We already limit the length and number of spikes on running shoes."
The Pistorius argument is about the length of his carbon fibre prosthetics, and the stride-length they generate. They give him a height far beyond what he would have had if his legs had been normal. The Cheetah, an artificial limb made by Flex Foot (which helped one-legged Scottish volleyball player David McCrae play able-bodied sport for his country) was said by one of Pistorius's victims to be like "being chased by a giant pair of scissors". His stride is still getting longer at the finish.
Pistorius rejects the suggestion his blades are longer than necessary, or that they give an advantage, but critics say the Paralympics already exist for disabled athletes.
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