He finished in a season-best time of 45.44 seconds, crossing the line and looking up at the scoreboard, then covering his face with his hands when he saw the capital "Q'' for qualifier go up by his name.

"Couldn't have hoped for anything better," he said.

The 25-year-old runner was born without fibulas and his legs were amputated below the knee before he was a year old. His is one of those stories that is every bit as much about the journey one part dramatic, another part inspiring and yet another part controversial as the final result.

"I know Oscar was the protagonist in the race," said Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic, who actually won the heat by .4 but went virtually unnoticed. "But I love him. He's a good racer."

Erison Hurtault of Dominica, who trained with Pistorius in South Africa, agreed.

"One thing I can say about Oscar is he's an incredibly hard worker," Hurtault said. "I'm glad to see him out here. I'm glad he's getting a chance to finally compete and hopefully something emerges out of everyone else's mind."