Oscar Pistorius resumes his Olympic dream as he takes on able-bodied athletes again in his first race of the season in Milan.
Pistorius back in action in Milan as Olympic dream resumes
Controversial runner Oscar Pistorius will run his first race of the season after being cleared to run against able-bodied athletes when he takes on Great Britain's Martin Rooney in Milan.
Pistorius still dreams of making the Olympics in Beijing in August and now he can get his campaign back on track after being given the all-clear.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cleared the South African to run against able-bodied athletes in May after ruling that his prosthetic legs do not give him a mechanical advantage.
The ruling overturned an International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) ban imposed on the 21-year-old and now he will return to action in Italy on Wednesday.
All eyes will again be on the 'Blade Runner' as he lines up at the Notturna Milano meeting where he will again face Britain's world junior 400m bronze medallist Rooney, who is in great form with five wins out of five this summer.
Support
Pistorius has had great support from Italian fans and it was no surprise he decided to return to action in Milan.
"I really feel at home in Italy, I would have not imagined such support from Italian fans some years ago," said Pistorius.
He still aims to win selection for both the 400m and the 4x400m relay at the Beijing Games, but knows it will be a tough task given the interruption in his programme caused by his case.
"It's my first competition of the year. It's going to be extremely difficult to qualify for Beijing in the 400," he added.
"The 4x400 relay will be more realistic and the South African Federation has given me some extra weeks to try to qualify for Beijing.
"It was difficult to focus on training. I worked very hard but I had not a lot of time to prepare.
"I will have a second chance in London 2012, but it is important to focus on my goal to qualify for Beijing.
"For me, the most important thing is just to compete and I am looking forward to it."
