London: "The fastest man on no legs", triple paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius is aiming to qualify as an able-bodied athlete for the Delhi Commonwealth Games but remains non-committal on whether he would actually participate in the mega-event.
The 23-year-old double-amputee South African, who is the world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres (sport class T44) events, will be seeking to breach the requisite 46-second mark at the Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace to make the Commonwealth cut for an able-bodied athlete.
Pistorius clocked a personal best of 46.02sec last month in Italy, just 0.07sec below the qualifying mark to compete in the 400m as an able-bodied athlete in Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
"I'm hoping the weather will be good, and I'd like to try to go under 45.95 seconds, but if I do, I will leave the decision on the Commonwealth Games up to my coach, Ampie Louw," Pistorius was quoted as saying.
"He has been telling me it has been a long season. I've been racing since May and if I reach qualifying, the final decision will rest with him," he added.
Pistorius runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. In 2007, he took part in his first international competitions for able-bodied athletes.
PTI
First Published: Friday, August 13, 2010, 11:48