'Blade runner' makes unprecedented Olympic debut

Story by CNN    Oscar Pistorius, a South African double-amputee nicknamed the "Blade Runner," made an unprecedented Olympic debut Saturday, finishing second in his 400-meter qualifying heat.

With a time of 45.44 seconds, Pistorius qualified for Sunday's semifinals.

The runner's legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a bone defect. He runs on special carbon fiber blades, hence the nickname.

His debut Saturday made him the first Para-lympian to compete in the able bodied Olympics.

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"To have been selected to represent Team South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the individual 400-meters and the 4x400-meter relay is a real honor, and I am so pleased that years of hard work, determination and sacrifice have all come together," he said last month.

The 25-year-old got to London after jumping through hurdles.

The four-time Paralympic Games gold medalist won a silver medal as part of South Africa's 4x400-meter relay at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea, last year.

He also looked set to be excluded from the individual event in London after failing to run the Olympic 'A' standard qualification mark twice in international competition.

But South African selectors relaxed their qualification rules last month and named him in both events.

"I have a phenomenal team behind me who have helped get me here and will now put everything we can into the final few weeks of preparations before the Olympic Games where I am aiming to race well, post good times and maybe even a personal best time on the biggest stage of them all."

The Johannesburg-born athlete is joined by Caster Semenya in the South African track and field team

Semenya, an 800-meter world champion, was the subject of a gender test by the International Association of Athletics Federations following her victory in Berlin at the world championships three years ago. She has since been cleared to compete.