DOUBLE amputee Oscar Pistorius says he is nervous, and excited, ahead of the Olympic season.
Pistorius is on the brink of realising his dream of participating in the able-bodied Olympic Games in London in July.
True to his character, however, the "Blade Runner" has his eyes set on greater things. "This year holds a lot and there is a lot of opportunity, but there is a lot of hard work that is going into preparing," Pistorius said.
"We started training on October 25 and we trained through December.
"Progress is looking good and I am feeling comfortable with where we are now."
Last year Pistorius became the first amputee to win a World Athletics Championships medal on the track, as a member of South Africa's 4x400m relay team that won silver in Daegu, South Korea.
His pursuit, however, of competing on an equal footing with non-disabled athletes meant that he neglected a couple of his Paralympic events - the 100m and 200m sprints.
This year he will have to deal with the added pressure, if he qualifies, of participating in both the Olympics and the Paralympics - which are a mere weeks apart.
The 25-year-old said he had absolute faith in his coach of eight years, Ampie Louw, who managed to keep him in top form for most of last season.
He said the greatest challenge would be to switch from the 400m, which is about "being economic rather than being powerful", to the 100m and 200m events for the Paralympics, which are "just about blasting it".
He said the adjustments made by the International Association of Athletics Federations to the Olympic qualifying standards could be a confidence booster.
"It does make a big difference. If anything, it might give you a little bit more confidence to get the times down where they need to be," he said.
"In essence, I would have had three A-qualification times if the standard that they had set at the end of the season was like that at the beginning.
"I ran 45.27 and 45.29 when the standard was 45.25, and now they have gone up to 45.30.
Blade Runner nervous
DOUBLE amputee Oscar Pistorius says he is nervous, and excited, ahead of the Olympic season.
Pistorius is on the brink of realising his dream of participating in the able-bodied Olympic Games in London in July.
True to his character, however, the "Blade Runner" has his eyes set on greater things. "This year holds a lot and there is a lot of opportunity, but there is a lot of hard work that is going into preparing," Pistorius said.
"We started training on October 25 and we trained through December.
"Progress is looking good and I am feeling comfortable with where we are now."
Last year Pistorius became the first amputee to win a World Athletics Championships medal on the track, as a member of South Africa's 4x400m relay team that won silver in Daegu, South Korea.
His pursuit, however, of competing on an equal footing with non-disabled athletes meant that he neglected a couple of his Paralympic events - the 100m and 200m sprints.
This year he will have to deal with the added pressure, if he qualifies, of participating in both the Olympics and the Paralympics - which are a mere weeks apart.
The 25-year-old said he had absolute faith in his coach of eight years, Ampie Louw, who managed to keep him in top form for most of last season.
He said the greatest challenge would be to switch from the 400m, which is about "being economic rather than being powerful", to the 100m and 200m events for the Paralympics, which are "just about blasting it".
He said the adjustments made by the International Association of Athletics Federations to the Olympic qualifying standards could be a confidence booster.
"It does make a big difference. If anything, it might give you a little bit more confidence to get the times down where they need to be," he said.
"In essence, I would have had three A-qualification times if the standard that they had set at the end of the season was like that at the beginning.
"I ran 45.27 and 45.29 when the standard was 45.25, and now they have gone up to 45.30.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos