PRETORIA, May 17: Oscar Pistorius’s family and friends on Friday described the pioneering South African paralympic athlete as a special human being without airs and graces or any complex over his disability.

Pistorius, who had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old due to a congenital disorder, was cleared on Friday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to use his prosthetic carbon-fibre limbs to compete in able-bodied events. He can now attempt to qualify for this year’s Beijing Olympics although his coach believes a more realistic target for the 21-year-old may be the 2009 world championships.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had banned Pretorius in January, ruling that the prosthetics gave him an advantage over able-bodied athletes.

Andy Scott, a pioneering South African paralympian now involved in corporate sponsorship of major sports, said:

“Oscar’s massive accomplishments are an inspiration for all disabled people. But he is also one of the more grounded, humble 21-year-old superstars I’ve met.

“He has handled all the attention after his paralympic world records and all the pressures of this year really well.”

Oscar’s father, Henke Pistorius, was celebrating his son’s successful appeal in a Pretoria restaurant on Friday and said the loss of his lower legs was never a disability in their eyes.

“We don’t speak in our family about Oscar being disabled, we’ve never treated him that way and so he’s never had that to fall back on. “I’ve been blessed with three children who are exactly the same, except Oscar is differently-abled and just quicker than the other two,” Henke told Reuters on Friday. He said Oscar had always shown a steely determination to reach the top.

“When Oscar decides he will do something, then he really applies his mind to it and his dedication means he can do it as good, if not better than, anyone else.—Reuters