Pistorius v Peacock: The battle of the blades

The fastest amputee in the world warmed up for his 100m showdown on Thursday against “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius with a 11.08 second run in the heats.

Jonnie Peacock, was the fastest qualifier compared to Pistorius’s time of 11.18 seconds.

Pistorius competed in a separate heat – for the first time since his controversial outburst following his 200m final loss on Sunday.

The South African complained the race on Sunday was “unfair”, claiming the victor’s blades were too long, before later apologising.

Getting a medal is not going to be a walk in the park in London. Jonnie Peacock

Peacock, 19, smashed the world record in June to run the distance in a blistering 10.85 seconds.

Pistorius, who returned to the track to anchor the South African 4 x 100m to gold, had already singled out the British athlete as a major threat to retaining his 100m title from the 2008 games in Beijing.

Peacock contracted meningitis as a child which left him in a coma, and doctors were forced to amputate his right leg below the knee.

He is already the fastest amputee in the world after his 10.85 second run in June.

Speaking before the Games, he predicted a new world record in the final.

Competitive final

The teenager, from Cambridge, said: “Getting a medal is not going to be a walk in the park in London. It is so competitive. Everyone could run under 11.

The pair will line up against the Brazilian Alan Oliveira who beat Pistorius to gold in the 200m on Sunday.

Also running in the final at 21:24 are the USA’s Jerome Singleton, Brett Leeper and Richard Browne, China’s Liu Zhiming and South Africa’s Arnu Fourie.

Channel 4 News’s athletics pundit Iwan Thomas tells Channel 4 News that it will be a close race, but he predicts that the Briton “will edge out Pistorius”.

“As a single leg amputee, Peacock gets away from the blocks reall well. Oscar Pistorius, being a double leg amputee takes longer to get going.”

But he adds that Peacock’s task is harder after Pistorius’s dramatic defeat on Sunday at the hands of Oliveira.

“After the hoo ha over the 200m, I think Pistorius will be even more determined to win.”

Other athletes in the mix according to Thomas are Leeper and Singleton, however he dismisses the challenge of Oliveira: “He doesn’t have a chance,” said the British 400m record holder.

After the 100m, Pistorius has the 400m to come, which rounds off a busy summer in which he made a groundbreaking appearance in the Olympics in the 400m and 4x400m relay.

He has admitted that his focus on the 400m has been at the expense of the shorter sprints and that he’d be happy with a top three finish in the 100m.