Double amputee Oscar Pistorius failed in his first bid to reach the Olympic 400 meters qualification time at an athletics meeting on Wednesday. The South African, who runs with carbon fibre blades attached below the knees, is entitled to compete against able-bodied runners following a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in May. The 21-year-old needed to clock 45.55 to qualify for the individual race at next month's Beijing Games but instead ran 47.78 to finish fourth. He has another chance to reach the mark at the Rome Golden Gala on July 11 and at a meeting in Lucerne five days later after Athletics South Africa gave him extra time to try to qualify. “I am a bit disappointed. I didn't expect to be wonderful but I didn't expect to be this bad,” Pistorius told reporters. “But I have to be realistic about it. I haven't run in about a year.” The South African, winner of the 200m gold and 100m bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, may still be able to run in his country's relay team in Beijing even if he does not manage the individual time. In another standout race at the Notturna di Milano meeting at the ageing Arena, Italy's Olympic 20 km walk champion Ivano Brugnetti geared up for Beijing with victory in the men's 5km walk in 19:07.72. Ethiopian world indoor champion Deresse Mekonnen easily won the men's 1,500km in 3:34.02 while Britain's world silver medalist Nicola Sanders triumphed in the women's 400 in 50.87. Chambers appeal Dwain Chambers' lawyers have launched an appeal to overturn the British sprinter's lifetime ban from the Olympics. Chambers' legal team said in a statement Thursday it has filed court papers against the British Olympic Association, saying its bylaw that bans drug cheats from the British team is unreasonable. Chambers returned to the track this year after serving a two-year doping ban. He twice ran within the ‘A' qualifying time for the Beijing Games on Saturday in the 100 meters in Germany. The UK athletics trials take place in Birmingham over the weekend of July 11-13 and Chambers, who ran 10.05 seconds in Sofia on Monday, is favourite to win the 100 meters, a victory that would normally guarantee Olympic selection. The BOA has vowed to fight the appeal. – Agencies __
