Oscar Pistorius wants Olympic and Paralympic medals in 2012

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Media caption,

Pistorius rejects Grey-Thompson criticism

South Africa athlete Oscar Pistorius is determined to win a medal at next year's London Olympics and Paralympics.

The sprinter is the only Paralympian to win an able-bodied World Championship medal, external after running in the 4x400m relay heats in Daegu.

Pistorius, 24, the first amputee athlete to race in the competition, had earlier finished last in his 400m semi-final, external, clocking 45.39 seconds.

But he said: "I want to compete in both [the Olympics and Paralympics]."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast TV, he added: "I will be running the 100m, 200m and 400m in the Paralympics.

"I've got to run one more qualification time for the Olympics between January and June next year.

"Maybe in the relay we can get medals [in the Olympics and Paralympics] if we double up on our performance from this time around?

"I think we will have a tough order in the Olympic year. Everybody will be focusing on that."

Pistorius had both legs amputated when he was just 11 months old and runs with carbon-fibre prosthetic limbs.

He was only cleared to race able-bodied athletes in 2008, external and the World Championships, where he won a relay silver, was the first major able-bodied event he took part in.

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Oscar Pistorius halts BBC Radio 4 interview

And he added: "Being able to compete in this year's World Championships was a huge dream come true for me.

"I wanted to go there and make the semi-final and gain as much as experience as possible and I walked away with a smile on my face. I think I can [go faster]."

Pistorius, known as 'Blade Runner', was left out of South Africa's 4x400m relay team for the final, despite running in the heats.

He said: "I don't know what happened there with the management deciding they didn't want to run me in the final.

"I was a bit disappointed. I ran a national record in the semi-final and it was quicker than the South African team ended up running in the final.

"But the South African team ran a cracker of a race in the final and managed a silver medal, which I don't think anyone expected."

Earlier, Pistorius walked out of an interview with BBC Radio 4 when he was asked by Rob Bonnet if he was an "inconvenient embarrassment" to the South African authorities.

Bonnet asked: "Some people regard you as an inspiration to Paralympic athletes - but it might also be said that you're a inconvenient embarrassment to the South African authorities and the IAAF because you're taking them into uncharted ethical waters. How do you respond to that?"

Pistorius replied: "I think that's an insult to me," before ending the interview.

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