Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — South Africa’s
, a
double amputee who made history by winning an appeal to allow him
to compete against able-bodied athletes, was admitted to a
Johannesburg hospital last night after he was injured in a
boating accident.
“At this point he’s in a critical but stable position in
intensive care,” Amelda Swartz, a spokeswoman for the Millpark
Hospital said today. It was too early to say whether he would
make a full recovery, she said.
Pistorius uses carbon-fiber prosthetics that have gained him
the nickname “Blade Runner.” He was born without his fibula,
the smaller of the two bones in the lower legs, and had both
limbs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. He had
taken up running as a teenager to recover from a rugby injury.
The 22-year-old, who has broken more than 25 Paralympic
records, won a court ruling in May that overturned a ban on him
competing against able-bodied athletes. While he failed to
qualify for the Beijing Olympics last year, he took three gold
medals in the
.
.
Last Updated: February 22, 2009 09:53 EST