Amputee Pistorius in SA squad

JOHANNESBURG (AP):

Double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius was chosen by South Africa's athletics federation to join this month's world championships.

Pistorius called the selection a culmination of his dream to compete at the highest level against able-bodied athletes. He will be the first amputee athlete at the World Championships when he represents South Africa in Daegu, South Korea, as their only runner in the 400 metres. He was also chosen for the 4x400m relay.

The 24-year-old Pistorius was part of a group of 26 athletes picked by Athletics South Africa after he smashed his personal best last month at a meet in northern Italy. He made the qualifying time for the meet and next year's London Olympics.

Dream come true

"I have dreamt for such a long time of competing in a major championships and this is a very proud moment in my life,'' Pistorius said in a statement. "It is an honour to be representing my country at such a prestigious event and I hope to do my best at the competition for South Africa.''

Women's 800-metre world champion Caster Semenya was also included and will defend the title she won in 2009 amid a storm of controversy over gender tests.

Eleven of South Africa's athletes will be going to the world championships for the first time, including Pistorius, who had to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, to be allowed to compete in able-bodied events on his carbon fibre blades.

The International Association of Athletics Federations had banned the multiple Paralympic gold medal winner from able-bodied competition, saying the blades gave him an unfair advantage.

Pistorius was cleared to compete in 2008, but failed to qualify for that year's Beijing Olympics and the 2009 worlds in Berlin.

But, needing to run 45.25 seconds to make this year's world championships, Pistorius clocked 45.07 last month in Lignano, Italy, his final race before the qualifying cut-off. He had never run faster than 45.61.

In the article headlined 'Jamaicans take aim at Jeter' published on B3 of Monday's Gleaner there were five errors.

(a) The five women mentioned in paragraph two have gone sub-11 seconds and not sub-10 as the article stated.

(b) The times, 10.64 seconds and 10.67 seconds (paragraph six), were registered by American Carmelita Jeter after the 2009 Berlin World Championships.

(c) The world leader in the 100 metres last year was Veronica Campbell-Brown with 10.78 seconds and not Jeter (paragraph six).

(d) Carmelita Jeter has beaten Campbell-Brown at a major championships. In the Berlin World Championships 100 metres, Jeter placed third and Campbell-Brown was fourth. The article (paragraph seven) stated that Jeter has never beaten Campbell-Brown in a major championships.

(e) Veronica Campbell-Brown ran in the 100 metres final in the Berlin World Championships two years ago and placed fourth (paragraph eight). She went there as the defending champion having won the title in Osaka two years earlier.