Gareth Davies

Oscar Pistorius - victorious. The double amputee sprinter is dancing a jig after his ban from competing in able-bodied events, imposed by the IAAF, was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. How so many people will have celebrated. And rightly so. The IAAF have been made to eat their words - and theories, that Pistorious runs with an advantage over able-bodied runners, even though he has no legs below the knee. The 21 year old, born without fibulae in both legs and 11 months old when his legs were amputated below the knee, will now return to his dream of qualifying and competing at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics. He was always destined to be a global star, and so what if he is over a second slower than Asafa Powell (the able-bodied 100m world record holder) and almost three seconds behind Michael Johnson's world 40-400m record. The point is that Pistorius, through pursuing his own dreams, will put the hopes and aspirations of millions of people with perceived disabilities around the world on the map. "Now I can do that," will ring out, not least to the estimated 80 million disabled people in China.

The strength of the decision - the CAS arbitration panel returned a unanimous ruling - that the IAAF ban be "revoked with immediate effect", is an even greater endorsement. The incumbent 400m Paralympic record holder (46.56 secs) will now try to achieve the Olympic 'A' standard of 45.55 secs or the 'B' qualifier of 45.95secs, and would become the second Paralympian to make the Olympics after compatriot Natalie Du Toit, a single amputee, qualified as a long-distance open water swimmer two weeks ago. Hurrah to Du Toit, too, having taken six years from being a Commonwealth Games competitor in Manchester in 2002, competing in both able-bodied and disability events, to reach her Olympic dream.

The South African selectors also have a third option with Oscar. They could select the University of Pretoria student for the Olympic 4 x 400m relay squad. He would not require a qualifying time and could be taken to Beijing as an alternate. Six runners can be picked for the relay squad.

Pistorius is likely to run in Milan early next month. "I'm just ecstatic. I was really confident that we had a great, watertight case we had put in front of CAS, but you still go into it with some nerves. The ruling was made available to us late on Thursday night. Although I have missed the South African athletics season, now I have a great fillip to go out and reach for the Beijing Olympics. The truth has come out. We have the opportunity once again to compete at an Olympics, if not in 2008, then in London in 2012. This was becoming a human rights issue for me."

Even Lamine Diack, IAAF President, has yielded to the decision of CAS. "Oscar will be welcomed wherever he competes this summer. He is an inspirational man and we look forward to admiring his achievements in the future." The IAAF had banned Pistorius in January after Professor Gert-Peter Bruggemann at the Sportshochschule in Cologne tested and ruled that the J-shaped carbon fibre prostheses Pistorius uses were "energy efficient", and gave him a mechanical advantage.

Pistorius then brought independent evidence to the two-day CAS tribunal, from Professor Hugh M. Herr, which countered the Bruggemann theories, and showed no advantage over able-bodied runners.

The CAS ruled the IAAF had failed to prove any advantage with the blades, and added "The panel was not persuaded that there was sufficient evidence of any metabolic advantage in favor of a double-amputee using the Cheetah Flex-Foot." Nor could the IAAF "prove that the biomechanical effects of using this particular prosthetic device gives Oscar Pistorius an advantage over other athletes not using the device."

Pistorius now is expected to get invitations from track and field promoters across the world who want him to run at their meets before Beijing. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson believes Pistorius "will now become the most recognized athlete with a disability in the world." The point now is what Oscar chooses to do with that status.