Thursday, August 9, 2012

Pistorius, South Africa to run in 4x400 final after not finishing heat

Oscar Pistorius will get another shot to run at the 2012 Olympics after South Africa won an appeal to advance to the 4x400-meter relay final— even after his team failed to finish the heats of the 4x400 race.

The double-amputee was on the track but didn't get to run in the heat Thursday because a teammate  tumbled out after colliding with a Kenyan runner.  South Africa, silver medalists at the last world championships, filed an appeal to be restored to the final.

Pistorius will get another chance after a jury of appeal said South Africa "had been severely damaged" in the collision between Ofentse Mogawane and the Kenyan, Vincent Kilu, who cut across him too soon in the second section of the Thursday morning heat.

The jury of appeal decided to give an additional lane 9 to South Africa in Friday's final "even though they did not finish the race."

It was a crazy morning for the South African team after Mogawane crashed and dislocated his shoulder, leaving Pistorius waiting in the changeover lane for a baton that never came.  The frustrated runner raised his hands in the air after he realized the race was lost.

"It's not the place you want something like this to happen," Pistorius said.

South Africa launched an appeal, but Pistorius, at first, said he had little hope of his team continuing on to the final.

"Even a protest isn't any consolation," said the man who has overcome many obstacles. "It's frustrating.  It's so hard.  You have so much support from back home."

Then came the surprise ruling that Kilu had cut across Mogawane, causing the collision.  It is very rare for a team to get reinstated if it doesn't finish a race.

Pistorius now has a second chance to leave London with more than the legacy of being the first double-amputee to compete in an Olympics.

According to the IAAF, the Kenyan team looked at video replays and agreed that its runner was at fault.

Something tells me the world thinks the jury's decision was the right thing to do.

1 comment:

  1. If you look back at history, the settlers were failing when the community all worked for the "common good" and there was no personal reward for hard work. Then the leader gave everyone their own plot of land to work and profit from and our capitalist society started thriving. Some people will work hard, and others are content to sit on their hind end with their hand out. Unfortunately, the government is becoming more of a mother bird and taking worms from the working people and giving handouts to a growing population. Pistorius shows what hard work and perseverance can accomplish!!!

    ReplyDelete