Amputee Pistorius eliminated in 400m semis

Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius reached his goal, even though he didn't secure a spot in the 400-metre final at the world championships in Daegu, South Korea.

The South African ran in the semifinals of his best event against able-bodied athletes Monday at Daegu Stadium, but he finished dead last in 46.19 seconds — .80 slower than his qualifying time a day earlier.

"I would have liked to perform better tonight," said Pistorius, who received a huge cheer when he was introduced ahead of the race. "My goal was to make the semifinal and I did it. … Even if I would have ran faster tonight, I wouldn't have made the final.

"It was a great opportunity and I've learned a lot from the experience."

Pistorius, who is known as the "Blade Runner," had his legs amputated when he was a baby and runs on carbon-fibre blades. He was competing against able-bodies athletes at a major championships for the first time.

And it was a long road just to get here.

Pistorius was originally banned from competing in major championships by the IAAF because the governing body said his blades gave him an unfair advantage.

But in 2008, he was cleared to compete by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, making him eligible for the Beijing Olympics later that year. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't meet the qualifying standard and sat out the Olympics while winning multiple gold medals at the Paralympics.

Pistorius again failed to qualify for the 2009 worlds in Berlin, but he reached the "A" standard in one of his last races before Daegu, finishing one lap of the track in 45.07 seconds to earn a place at the world championships.

"It has been a lot of years of hard work, dedication and consistency from my coaching staff," Pistorius said. "Very happy with this opportunity. I have learnt a lot and I am sure I will be able to use this experience and implement it in my races in the future."

That future is likely to start later this week. Pistorius is expected to run in South Africa's 4x400 relay team on Friday.

But even there, he faces controversy. He is only allowed to run the opening leg of the race, since it is still run in lanes. The IAAF is fearful he could hurt other runners once it turns into a pack race.