The Olympic Games has lost one of its biggest names. Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee from South Africa, has failed to make the South African 400m team. Pistorius has spent the past few weeks travelling the world, across Europe, the USA and Africa, trying to run an "A" standard of 45.30sec. He had his last chance at the African championships in Benin on Friday, but he could only clock 45.52sec. That was good enough to win him a silver medal, but not to fulfil the selectors' stringent criteria.

Pistorius could still make the South African 4x400m relay team, but even that cannot be taken for granted. He was controversially dropped from the quartet after he helped them to set a national record in the heats of the 2011 world championships, and he has suggested that certain figures within the administration hold a grudge against him.

Pistorius holds one "A" standard, set in a domestic competition, but the selectors stipulated that he would need to add another to make the grade.

The Games will be poorer for his absence. He was gracious about his failure to qualify, saying: "I had felt very strong coming into this competition as my fitness and speed has been continually improving. I was in good shape to set the time and believe my speed will only increase over the next few weeks." He still has three titles to defend at the Paralympics, and he says they will now be his "big focus", along with the relay.