Oscar Pistorius qualifies for 400 m Semifinals
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| 'Will' to win |
Double Amputee, South Africa's Oscar Pistorius has crossed the first landmark,on his way to the Ultimate Glory which no one has ever experienced. The Blade runner, as he is fondly called, has qualified for 400m Semifinals on Saturday.
"I've worked for six years ... to get my chance," said the South African, who finished second and advanced to Sunday night's semi-finals. "I found myself smiling in the starting block. Which is very rare in the 400 meters."
He walked out of the tunnel, looked into the stands, saw his friends and family there — including his 89-year-old grandmother, who was carrying the South African flag.
"It's very difficult to separate the occasion from the race," Pistorius conceded.
But he figured it out. He finished in a season-best time of 45.44 seconds, crossing the line and looking up at the scoreboard, then covering his face with his hands when he saw the capital "Q'' — for qualifier — go up by his name.
"Couldn't have hoped for anything better," he said.
The 25-year-old runner was born without fibulas and his legs were amputated below the knee before he was a year old. His is one of those stories that is every bit as much about the journey — one part dramatic, another part inspiring and yet another part controversial — as the final result.
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