Pistorius sorry for outburst
Source: AFP |
September 4, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOUTH Africa's Oscar Pistorius apologized yesterday for the timing of his outburst after losing his T44 200m title, but insisted there was an issue with large prosthetics lengthening an amputee's stride.
Pistorius, the star of the London 2012 Paralympics, was sensationally beaten into the silver medal position by Brazil's Alan Oliveira on Sunday.
The 25-year-old then hit out at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), claiming it was not a fair race and he was at a disadvantage caused by artificial leg length, as the regulations allowed athletes to make themselves "unbelievably high".
Pistorius, who had both legs amputated below the knee, runs on carbon fibre blades, as does Oliveira.
"I would never want to detract from another athletes' moment of triumph and I want to apologize for the timing of my comments after yesterday's race," the South African said. "I do believe that there is an issue here and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the IPC but I accept that raising these concerns immediately as I stepped off the track was wrong.
"That was Alan's moment and I would like to put on record the respect I have for him."
IPC media and communications director Craig Spence said there were regulations regarding the length of prostheses for amputee athletes in T42 (above-the-knee), T43 (double below-the-knee) and T44 (single leg below-the knee) track races.
"Since 2010 we have had rules in place whereby in international competition we measure athletes in the call room prior to a race," he said.
"Last night (Sunday) we measured all eight athletes in the call room prior to competition. This was done by an international classifier. They were measured, we had the signature of the classifier and all eight were legitimate to race."
Oliveira said he was disappointed and rejected Pistorius' claims.
"It's not just about the prostheses, there is training behind (my performance). I get upset to hear this kind of thing. I'm inside the rules," he said.
Pistorius, the star of the London 2012 Paralympics, was sensationally beaten into the silver medal position by Brazil's Alan Oliveira on Sunday.
The 25-year-old then hit out at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), claiming it was not a fair race and he was at a disadvantage caused by artificial leg length, as the regulations allowed athletes to make themselves "unbelievably high".
Pistorius, who had both legs amputated below the knee, runs on carbon fibre blades, as does Oliveira.
"I would never want to detract from another athletes' moment of triumph and I want to apologize for the timing of my comments after yesterday's race," the South African said. "I do believe that there is an issue here and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the IPC but I accept that raising these concerns immediately as I stepped off the track was wrong.
"That was Alan's moment and I would like to put on record the respect I have for him."
IPC media and communications director Craig Spence said there were regulations regarding the length of prostheses for amputee athletes in T42 (above-the-knee), T43 (double below-the-knee) and T44 (single leg below-the knee) track races.
"Since 2010 we have had rules in place whereby in international competition we measure athletes in the call room prior to a race," he said.
"Last night (Sunday) we measured all eight athletes in the call room prior to competition. This was done by an international classifier. They were measured, we had the signature of the classifier and all eight were legitimate to race."
Oliveira said he was disappointed and rejected Pistorius' claims.
"It's not just about the prostheses, there is training behind (my performance). I get upset to hear this kind of thing. I'm inside the rules," he said.
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