LONDON — After South African Oscar Pistorius made history Saturday by becoming the first double-amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics, fellow 400-meter runner Bryshon Nellum recalled what it was like being in a wheelchair after he was shot in both legs in a drive-by shooting when he was 19, his career in jeopardy.
Nellum said he could relate to Pistorius, if only a little.
“It’s amazing what he’s doing,” said Nellum, who is from Los Angeles. “He motivates all of us. If something like that happens to you, you lose both your legs, it’s like, wow. Some people would give up. For him to continue to run with people with legs, it’s unbelievable. It’s amazing.”
Running on two high-performance carbon-fiber prosthetics, Pistorius finished second in his heat — 16th overall out of 47 runners — and qualified for Sunday’s semifinals accompanied by the roar of 80,000 spectators. Half an hour later, he was still feeling goose bumps.
“I didn’t know whether to cry,” Pistorius said. “I had a mixture of emotions. It was the most amazing experience, the crowd was amazing.”
Pistorius was born without a fibula in either leg, so they were amputated below the knees under the advice of doctors when he was 11 months old.
“I’ve worked for six years to try to make the 400 (qualifying) standard, and to come out here today is just an unbelievable experience,” Pistorius said. “I found myself smiling in the starting blocks, which is very rare in the 400 meters. As I came out of the tunnel, I saw my friends and family, my grandmother — she’s 89 — she was there with the South African flag. It was just an amazing experience.”
Track and field’s ruling body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, banned Pistorius from competing in able-bodied meets in 2008, taking the position that his prostheses gave him an unfair advantage. The Court of Arbitration for Sport reversed the decision, but he failed to make the Beijing Olympics because he had not achieved the Olympic time standard (45.3 seconds) in the event.
Pistorius achieved the standard last March, and Saturday he achieved his dream.
“It’s very difficult to separate the occasion from the race,” Pistorius said. “You get so much energy from the crowd. You’ve heard a lot of athletes saying the track’s quick, and I believe the track is fast. But the crowd is what is making it that much more enjoyable.”
Pistorius said he was very nervous before the race because so much responsibility came with the opportunity. While some debate whether he has an unfair advantage, he wanted to prove he belonged. He finished the race in 45.44 seconds, his second-fastest time of the year.
“Just being here is a tremendous experience,” Pistorius said. “You draw a lot from the crowd and the occasion. It’s one thing being here, and it’s another thing performing. That is a task I take seriously. I want to represent my country well. My goal was to make the semifinal, and that was going to be a tough goal for me. I had to run a very hard race to make the semifinal today.”
Others in the race were reluctant to address the issue of competitive advantage. They saw an inspirational moment for what it was, and celebrated Pistorius for it.
“He created history,” said Kirani James of Grenada, who had the ninth- fastest time of the day, 0.21 of a second faster than Pistorius. “I have a lot of respect for the guy, he’s a very great person, most importantly. If he wants to compete with us, he’s just another competitor out there that just has a lot of love for track and field. He adds some elements to our sport which will generate a lot of interest in our sports.”
Even as he felt lingering goose bumps, Pistorius conceded it’s unlikely he will qualify for Monday’s finals, but he was OK with that. He achieved his goal.
“I couldn’t have hoped for anything better,” Pistorius said. “My goal was always to make the semifinal. I’ve been able to do so, and good luck to my competitors. I’m looking forward to coming back here and seeing you all here again.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616, jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jmeyer26
