Oscar Pistorius, known by the nickname Blade Runner, has become the first-ever amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, after being included into South Africa's London 2012 squad.
Pistorius, who earlier failed to qualify for the individual event, has been selected for the country’s 4 x 400m relay team."Today is really one of the happiest days of my life!” the 25-year-old wrote on his Twitter page. “Will be in @London2012 for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games! Thank you to everyone that has made me the athlete I am! God, family and friends, my competitors and supporters! You have all had a hand!"The Olympics won’t be the first time the Blade Runner would compete against able bodied athletes. He was on the South African 4 x 400m relay team that won silver at last year’s world championships in Daegu, South Korea. Back then, Pistorius ran in the qualifying stages, but was left out of the quartet for the final. The double-amputee also plans to compete in the 2012 Paralympics, to add to the four gold medals he already has in the bag. Pistorius runs on carbon fibre blades after his both legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old due to a bone defect.