Amputee Pistorius resumes Olympic bid in Rome

[July 11, 2008]  ROME (AP) -- Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius resumes his bid to qualify for the Olympics on Friday at a Golden Gala featuring a large cast of standouts honing their form for the Beijing Games.

Pistorius needs to meet an Olympic qualifying time of 45.55 seconds in the 400 to make South Africa's relay team for Beijing. Last week in Milan, in his first able-bodied race in nearly a year, he ran 47.78.

"I think my time will be better than in Milan. I hope it's going to be enough -- or close -- to qualifying," Pistorius said. "It's going to be very difficult."

Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt will clash again in the 400 meters, a week after Merritt stunned the Olympic and two-time world champion at the U.S. trials.

For the last several years, it seemed Wariner's only opponent was history and world record holder Michael Johnson, now the Texan's agent.

"It's great having a competitor like LaShawn," Wariner said Thursday. "He's got a lot of talent. I like having someone to compete with. Besides making me run faster, it's going to make the event (more fun) for people to watch."

Five athletes remain in the hunt for the Golden League's $1 million jackpot: Bershawn Jackson (400 hurdles) and Hussein Al-Sabee (long jump) on the men's side and Pamela Jelimo (800 meters), Josephine Onyia (100 hurdles) and Blanka Vlasic (high jump) among the women.

Competitors that win their event in all six Golden League meets will share the jackpot. Rome is the third meet in the series after Berlin and Oslo, followed by Paris (July 18), Zurich (Aug. 29) and Brussels (Sept. 5).

Pistorius resumed training only seven weeks ago when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that he was eligible to run in Beijing. He'd spent most of 2008 fighting his case in legal circles, which had affected his form -- but he expects improvement from his performance in Milan.

CAS overturned a decision by the IAAF that Pistorius' carbon fiber prosthetic racing blades gave him an unfair advantage and that he should be banned from the Olympics and any other able-bodied race.

"The debate has quieted down lately," Pistorius said. "I think a lot of people that were skeptical at the beginning have had their questions answered."

Pistorius will run in the 400 B race, about an hour after Wariner and Merritt duel in the A competition of the single-lap event.

"I've heard that he's wanted to compete against us the last couple of years. Now he gets his chance," Merritt said. "As long as we do what we need to do and he does what he has to, everyone is happy."

Merritt has aimed to become the top man in the 400 since finishing second to Wariner at last year's worlds in Osaka, Japan.

"This year, I came in with the mentality that I want to be No. 1 and it's going well so far," he said. "But the big picture is the Olympics. It's been a great season, but it's not over yet."

World champion Irving Saladino is in Rome but won't face local long jump rival Andrew Howe because the Italian is injured. Salim Sdiri, the Frenchman who was pierced in his side by a wayward javelin during last year's meet, is entered.

Tero Pitkamaki, the Finn who threw the javelin that hit Sdiri, is also back. The javelin competition has been moved up to the start of the meet so as not to risk any interference with the long jump.

"It's a little difficult to come back here," Pitkamaki said. "I have had a few nightmares. I should have stopped the competition after the accident, but I didn't know how serious it was."

Former world record-holder Asafa Powell will run the 100 meters, and will want to show he's fully recovered from a chest injury that kept him out for a large chunk of the season. Usain Bolt set a world record of 9.72 seconds in New York on May 31.

While Bolt isn't in Rome, there is a quality field including Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, the silver medalist at the 2007 worlds, and Trinidad's Darrel Brown, the world junior record-holder.

In a certain sense, Powell appeared happy that Bolt had broken his record of 9.74.

"It's a lot better when the attention is not on you," Powell said in his usual quiet voice. "I prefer it."

At the Jamaican trials two weeks ago, Powell displayed a new technique in which he stays lower during the first 50 meters, a style he plans to continue developing.

Other standouts to watch at the Stadio Olimpico include two of this season's world record-breakers: Dayron Robles in the men's 110 hurdles and Tirunesh Dibaba in the women's 5,000.

Another world record-holder, Yelena Isinbayeva, opens her outdoor season in the pole vault. The Russian has limited her schedule this year to stay fresh for Beijing.

[Associated Press; By ANDREW DAMPF]

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