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‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius fails to qualify for Olympics, still may run in London

Oscar Pistorius, the track star known as the Blade Runner, failed in his attempt to qualify for the 400 meters and become the first amputee to run at the Olympics. But his quest may not be over.

The South African double amputee ran a 45.52 in his final attempt to get the required "A" qualifying time. Pistorius needed to finished below 45.31 at the African Athletic Championships to get into the field for next month's Summer Games in London. He had already run a sub-45.3 this year, but the South African track federation required two such times in order to gain a berth.

[ Photos: South Africa runner Oscar Pistorius ]

Pistorius is still expected to be selected for South Africa's 4x400 relay team, which won a silver medal at last year's world championships. He ran in the heats for that team but was left off the team for the finals. It's unlikely that would happen again in London: Pistorius has the two fastest times in South Africa this year.

"I was in good shape to set the time and believe my speed will only increase over the next few weeks," he told reporters after the race. "I had a great early start to the season, setting the Olympic qualification time and I am hoping that there is still the opportunity for me to be selected to run for South Africa in the 4x400m relay."

Pistorius will run in the Paralympic Games in London in August.

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