One of the fastest runners in South Africa is finally going to the Olympics. Oscar Pistorius is the twenty four year old sprinter who has garnered global attention because he has the heart of a lion, and the legs of a cheetah. Well, the lion part is made up, but the cheetah thing is real. Pistorius, a bilateral amputee below the knees wears Cheetah Flex Foot prosthetics from the Ossur company in Iceland. Winner of multiple gold medals at the Paralympics and other disabled events, “The Fastest Man On No Legs” has finally qualified for the (able-bodied) 2012 Olympics in London. Watch his historic 400m sprint in the video below followed by tons of great pics and clips of the racer in action. Running this month in the 2011 World Championships and joining the South African Olympic team for 2012, Pistorius represents a turning point in the history of prosthetics and athletics. Whether you give the credit to Ossur or Pistorius, people with synthetic limbs are competing at the highest level of human skill. Equality through cybernetics?

Pistorius narrowly missed qualifying for the 2008 Olympics when his 400m time was just a little shy of the mark. His July 19th run at Ligano, Italy came in at just 45.07 seconds, a personal best and well under (competitively speaking) the 45.25 qualifying time. Here’s his historic run. I love how happy his competitors are to see him succeed: