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One of the early stories of the 2008 Beijing Olympics has been the plight of double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius of South Africa. Born with a condition called congenital absence of the fibula in both of his legs, Pistorius has learned to be a world class sprinter with the help of carbon fiber “blades” that allow him to run much in the manner of an able-bodied athlete.

In January of 2008, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) had ruled that since his carbon fiber blades supposedly gave him an advantage over his able-bodied counterparts that he could not race against them in competitions, including the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Much of the IAAF’s reasoning was based on a German professor’s research, which led to a belief that the carbon fiber blades, dubbed “Cheetah” blades, were unfair because of their energy efficiency. However, Pistorius and his lawyers had their own independent tests conducted that claimed that the contrary was true, and that all the carbon fiber blades accomplish is to put Pistorius on “equal ground” with able-bodied competitors.

Since then, Pistorius has spent much of his time appealing the ruling to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) to try to get the IAAF’s ruling overturned. Once the ruling finally was overturned, Pistorius could finally get back to the business of training, so that he could make a run at participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The challenges are far from behind him, however. Pistorius has a lot of work to do to shave about a second off of his best 400 meter time (46.56 seconds), which he will have to do to reach the qualifying time required for the Olympic Games. Of course, the South African team can still include Pistorius in a relay squad, if they choose. If they do so, it’s sure to be one of the top stories in the entire Beijing Olympics.

Pistorius is proud of the fact that the decision was overturned, as this decision could represent a precedent that can be used to help decide similar cases in the future. In that sense, Pistorius has won a battle for all athletes that are born with disadvantages.

There is still some controversy, as there are those who maintain that only able-bodied competitors should be able to compete in the Olympic Games, but for the most part, the world celebrates with Pistorius following his successful appeal.

The tenacity and determination that Pistorius showed by appealing the initial ruling, rather than just accepting it and moving on, is a symbol of the determination that has also made him great on the track- able to compete against those who would appear to have an advantage over him.

To prepare, Pistorius will continue running in competitions against both able-bodied and Paralympic competitors to get himself sharp again. In the worst case scenario, if Pistorius fails to qualify for the Beijing Olympics and isn’t selected to be part of a relay team, Pistorius claims he will be undeterred. He will merely focus his energy on preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games instead. This kind of determination and perseverance in the face of adversity is what makes Pistorius the embodiment of a true Olympic athlete, despite the fact that he is a double-amputee.

Oscar Pistorius won’t be hard to pick out if he’s able to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and line up for the 400 meters. After all, Pistorius has spent his whole life standing out from the crowd. If you’re watching, he’ll be the runner who, instead of fibulas and feet, will have two curved metal blades to support himself. Pistorius is a double-amputee who was born without fibulas.

Despite the disadvantages that he faced as a boy who was amputated from the knee down on both legs, Pistorius has always been focused on tackling new challenges. Pistorius competed in wrestling, rugby, water polo and tennis as a youth, and played water polo and tennis at a high enough level to be one of the best in his area. In January of 2004, Pistorius was hurt in a rugby match, and was introduced to running during his rehabilitation process. Instantly, he was hooked.

Since then, Pistorius has trained day and night to be able to compete not only against other Paralympic athletes, but able-bodied athletes as well. His Paralympics career got off to a very quick start. In the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, Pistorius qualified for the final heat of the 200 meter race, even though he briefly fell during the preliminary race. When the final race arrived, Pistorius didn’t fall again- instead, he set a world record tie of 21.97 seconds, beating not only double amputees like himself, but also single amputee Americans Brian Frasure and Marlon Shirley.

Pistorius didn’t stop there. In 2005, he won the gold medal at the Paralympic World Cup for both the 100 and 200 meter races, even besting his previous 200 meter world record. He continued to dominate Paralympic events, winning three gold medals at the 2006 Paralympic Athletics World Championships for winning the 100, 200 and 400 meter events. Finally, in March of 2007, Pistorius set a disability sports record with a time of 46.56 in the 400 meter dash during the South African Senior Athletics Championships. He would set more records for the 100 and 200 meter races at the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled later that same year.

What really turned heads, however, was Pistorius’ performances against his able-bodied counterparts. In 2005, Pistorius was able to win the 400 meter race in the South African Championships with a time of 47.34 seconds. He was also a participant at Rome’s Golden Gala, where he bested his previous 400 meter time with a run of 46.90 seconds, good enough for second place. At this point, Pistorius began to seriously entertain competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Unfortunately, the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) had other ideas. They ruled that according to their sponsored scientific study by a German man, that the conclusion had been reached that Pistorius’ carbon fiber blades (known as “Cheetah” blades) gave Pistorius an unfair advantage. This was certainly a first for Pistorius, being pointed at as the competitor who had the advantage!

However, Pistorius fought with all his might to have the decision overturned, just as he had fought all his life while competing in able-bodied sports competitions. Finally, his appeal to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) was successful, as the CAS announced on May 16, 2008 that Pistorius would be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes after all. The CAS had held their own studies that showed that Pistorius’ carbon fiber blades did not provide a significant advantage over the other runners.

With that battle finally finished, Pistorius still faces an uphill battle to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. His best time is about a second away from the Olympic qualifying time for the 400 meter run, which is 45.55 seconds (45.95 seconds if no other South African meets the lower time). If Pistorius is unable to do so, he is still a possible choice for the South African relay team. No matter what happens, if we see Oscar Pistorius line up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, we’ll be witnessing history in the making.