"Blade-runner" Pistorius fails in Olympic bid

By Mark Ledsom

LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius said he was happy with his season's achievements on Wednesday despite missing out in his last bid to qualify for the 400 metres at next month's Beijing Olympics.

Pistorius set a personal best time of 46.25 seconds to finish third in a field of able-bodied athletes at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne but was 0.70 seconds short of the 45.55 seconds qualifying standard for the Games.

"I said at the start of the season that I'd be extremely happy just to be running times I was comfortable with, whether I made it to the Olympics or not," Pistorius said after soaking up loud applause from the Swiss crowd.

"Tonight was certainly one of those times."

The South African athlete, who successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for his right to compete with able-bodied athletes, said he was still hoping to be selected for his country's 4x400 metre relay squad.

"If you look at the individual time it was always going to be a difficult task after only being back on the track for about nine weeks now, but there is still the relay.

"It's up to the (South African) federation but I know there are one or two guys hoping to make the squad who have not done as good as 46.25 this year so I'll just have to see when I get home.

"With enough practice I could have run a 45 (a sub 46 second race)," added the 21-year-old.