South African double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius has fallen short in his final bid to reach the 400-meter qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics.
The 21-year-old Pistorius placed third in a personal best 46.25 seconds Wednesday in Lucerne, Switzerland. That is 11-100ths of a second faster than he had ever run before. But Pistorius remained slower than the Olympic qualifying standard of 45.55 seconds.
The International Association of Athletics Federations had banned Pistorius, saying his carbon fiber blades gave him a competitive edge over able-bodied runners. But the Court of Arbitration for Sports overturned the ruling, allowing Pistorius to compete at the Olympics.
South African selectors still could name Pistorius to their Olympic relay team, which will be announced on Thursday or Friday.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.