With his final attempt, South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius qualified for next month's world championships by smashing his 400m personal best in Lignano, Italy, Tuesday. Pistorius, known as the ‘Blade Runner' because he runs with carbon fiber prosthetic running blades, clocked 45.07 seconds to record a time inside both the world championships and 2012 London Olympics qualifying mark. “It was just a dream race,” Pistorius, 24, told Reuters in a late night telephone conversation from Lignano. “I just have not been able to sleep. I must have 300 messages congratulating me.” The performance enabled Pistorius to become the first amputee sprinter to qualify for the world championships, which begin on Aug. 27 in Daegu, South Korea. His achievement was all the more dramatic as his qualifying time was recorded on the final day of eligibility for the South African team, he said. “'See you in Daegu' sounds so wonderful,” said Pistorius, who had both lower legs amputated when he was 11 months old. A multiple Paralympic gold medalist, the South African had sought for years to compete in the world championships and Olympics. World indoor triple jump champion Teddy Tamgho of France has, meanwhile, withdrawn from next month's world championships with a fractured ankle joint. The 22-year-old Tamgho sustained the injury Saturday during a warmup at the under-23 European championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
