Oscar Pistorius was selected Wednesday to run in both the individual 400 metres and the 4x400 relay at the London Olympics, clearing the way for him to become the first amputee track athlete to compete at the Olympics.
Global News looks at the life of the South African star athlete, who's been blazing a trail on the track for nearly a decade now.
Oscar was born on November 22, 1986 in Johannesburg, but considers Pretoria as his hometown.
He was born with his legs, but without a fibula – the outer bone between the knee joint and ankle – in both legs. His parents, Henk and Sheila, met with some of the world's top doctors to discuss Oscar's condition. Physicians said the child would be able to cope better if he was amputated before he learned to walk.
The Pistorius family made the painful decision to follow through with that advice when Oscar was only 11 months old. South African orthopedic surgeon Gerry Versveld performed the life-changing procedure, amputating Oscar's legs below the knee.
Just six months later, Oscar was fitted with prosthetic legs. And days after that, he was up and moving around like most other children his age.
Athletics ran in the Pistorius family, and Oscar's condition proved to be no obstacle in carrying on this tradition. He made a goal to play in the Super Rugby event, (basically, the Stanley Cup, Grey Cup or Super Bowl of rugby involving teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand).
Oscar's ambition knew no bounds. He also wrestled, boxed, played tennis, cricket, and was a member of his high school's water polo team. He even managed to find time to participate in triathlons.
But in June 2003, Oscar shattered his right knee while playing rugby. Dr. Versveld advised the teen to start the healing process by running.
And it appears the 16-year-old's track career took off from there.
In January 2004, he entered his school's 100-metre race and won, coming in at 11.72 seconds. His father discovered Oscar beat the existing Paralympic record of 12.20 seconds.
In June 2004, a year after his knee injury, Oscar received his first pair of "Flex-Foot Cheetahs" – the brand of prosthetic feet made by the orthopedic company Össur.
There was no stopping Oscar now. He continued to win the hearts of fans and win races, capturing the gold in the T44 200-metre race at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, racing in at 21.97 seconds. It was a new world record.
In July 2007, Oscar, now known as the "blade runner" and "the fastest man on no legs," went head to head with able-bodied athletes at the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) Golden Gala event in Rome.
But controversy arose a few months later. In November 2007, after undergoing scientific tests at the Cologne Sports University (CSU), doctors said Oscar's prosthetic limbs gave him an unfair advantage over his able-bodied competitors, that he was able to run faster with less energy.
Oscar disputed the claims, saying the exams were "biased and scientifically flawed." Despite his protests, the IAAF voted to ban him from any competitions involving able-bodied athletes.
Unhappy with the ruling, he hired lawyers and underwent a second series of tests at Rice University in Houston.
In May 2008, a Court of Arbitration panel unanimously sided with Oscar, saying both CSU and IAAF didn't consider specific factors, such as the disadvantages he has at the beginning of each race, and that the tests only looked at what happens when Oscar runs in a straight line. The panel ruled there was no evidence the prosthetics gave Oscar an advantage.
The IAAF was forced to reverse its decision.
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