ATHLETICS:OSCAR PISTORIUS was yesterday cleared to run at this summer's Olympic Games, and immediately received the backing of the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) to achieve his Beijing dream.
The South African double amputee, who wears J-shaped prosthetics, won his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport after the IAAF decided his artificial legs gave him an advantage.
Pistorius said he was "ecstatic" and hailed the decision as a breakthrough for disabled people, but - surprisingly - the first note of concern was sounded by Britain's most successful disabled athlete, the wheelchair racer Tanni Gray-Thompson warning against possible damage to the Paralympics.
Pistorius, the so-called Blade Runner, said, "I am ecstatic. When I found out I cried. It is a battle that has been going on for far too long. It's a great day for sport. This day is going to go down in history for the equality of disabled people.
"I can definitely say the truth has come out. We have the opportunity to chase my dream of participating in an Olympics, if not in 2008 then in 2012."
The IAAF president, Lamine Diack, said: "The IAAF accepts the decision of CAS and Oscar will be welcomed wherever he competes this summer. He is an inspirational man and we look forward to admiring his achievements."
Pistorius, the 200-metre Paralympic champion, runs 400-metre races in "able-bodied" events. Now his task will begin. He has a 400-metre best of 46.56 seconds but needs to run the A standard, 45.55, to ensure qualification for the individual event in Beijing. He could make a South African relay team, because qualifying times are not needed.
Pistorius, 21, who was born without fibula bones and had his lower legs amputated when 11 months old, never gave up after the IAAF investigations into his prosthetics. He had further tests at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which found his "Cheetah" legs did not give him an edge against able-bodied runners.
"I am thrilled with the panel's findings and hope that it silences many of the crazy theories that have been circulating in recent months about my having an unfair advantage," he added.
But Grey-Thompson, said she hoped the ruling would not have the wrong type of knock-on effect for Pistorius's event in the Paralympics.
"For Oscar, it is huge and I can understand why he is doing it," She said. "He will be the first Paralympian who is truly known worldwide and the movement will benefit from it. But the argument goes much deeper than Oscar.
"If he runs at the Olympics, they have to take his event out of the Paralympics because I would not want the Paralympics race becoming the 'B' event . . .
"If Oscar is seen to be making the jump from Paralympics to Olympics, then the Paralympics is immediately B finals . . . He has always said he wants to run both but there is something about that which does not feel quite right . . . It is the whole future of his event at the Paralympics Games which is under discussion."
Pistorius will now seek races and is likely to return to Rome, where he finished second in an able-bodied event last summer, and possibly to Britain. Last July he ran in Sheffield but was disqualified for running out of his lane.
Giselle Davies of the International Olympic Committee, said: "The IOC respects the decision of CAS. Oscar is a determined and gutsy athlete who will now no doubt put all his energy into reaching the qualification standards for the Olympic Games. If he makes it we would be delighted to welcome him."
