LONDON — The quest of Oscar Pistorius to reach the 400-meter Olympic final ended Sunday night when his artificial legs finally could not keep up with the able-bodied runners around him.
Pistorius, the so-called “Blade Runner” because of the wispy carbon fiber prosthesis that allowed the double leg amputee to finish second in Saturday’s first round of 400 qualifying, was never in the hunt Sunday. He strode home last in his eight-man semifinal heat.
Needless to say, that wasn’t good enough to reach Monday’s final. Only the top two finishers in each of the three semifinal heats qualified for the gold medal race, along with the two next-fastest times.
Pistorius’ clocking of 46.54 seconds was the second-worst of the 24 semifinal participants, much slower than the 45.44 he ran Saturday.
A resigned Pistorius did not seem surprised. His pre-Olympic goal had been to reach the semifinals, and he had accomplished it.
“The whole experience is mind-blowing,” Pistorius said.
He’s not finished yet. Pistorius indicated he will be a member of South Africa’s 4×400-meter relay team. Preliminary rounds for that event begin Thursday.
“It’s a dream come true,” Pistorius said. “I want to thank everyone for their support.”