Pistorius personal best takes him step closer to London 2012 target
Sunday, 18 July 2010
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
July 18 - Oscar Pistorius took another significant step today towards achieving his ambition of competing in both the Olympics and Paralympics at London 2012 when he ran a personal best for the 400 metres.
Competing against able-bodied athletes at a meeting in Lignano in Italy, the South African ran 46.03sec for the one lap event to finish second behind America’s Jamaal Torrance.
It was a big improvement for the 23-year-old from Johannesburg, smashing is previous best of 46.25 set in 2008.
Perhaps more significantly it lifted the Blade Runner to second place on this year’s South African rankings and puts him into contention for selection for this year’s Commonwealth Games, which are due to open in New Delhi on October 3.
It also takes him closer to 45.95, the B-qualifying time expected to be set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for the World Championships in Daegu next year.