Pistorius cleared for Olympic bid!!

Fantastic news!!

By David Martin (Yahoo! Sports)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned a ban on double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius competing against able-bodied athletes Friday, allowing him to immediately run in all International Association of Athletics Federation sanctioned events.

The arbitration panel’s unanimous ruling - that the decision of the IAAF be “revoked with immediate effect and Mr. Pistorius is currently eligible to compete in IAAF-sanctioned events” - means he can can now continue his goal of qualifying for the Beijing Games.

Pistorius, 21, now needs to clock the Olympic ‘A’ standard of 45.55 seconds in the 400 meters or the ‘B’ qualifier of 45.95 if no other South African should attain the higher one.

“I am thrilled with the panel’s findings and hope that it silences many of the crazy theories that have been circulating in recent months about my having an unfair advantage,” Pistorius said.

“My focus throughout this appeal has been to ensure that disabled athletes be given the chance to compete and compete fairly with able-bodied athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify for the Olympics.”