Pistorious sees bright future for the games

The South African brought the curtain down on a summer of action at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday night with a belated first gold medal of the Games, emphatically winning the 400m title.

It was a fine way to end a week which had started in hugely controversial circumstances for the 25-year-old, after he launched a furious attack on the long blades worn by Alan Fonteles Oliveira after the Brazilian beat him to 200m gold.

Pistorius has since apologised and been at pains not to re-enter the debate, however many times he is asked.

And despite the loss of that crown to Oliveira and his 100m title to British teenager Jonnie Peacock, he leaves London with the impression the public perception of the Paralympics has changed.

“I think people are going to look back at this Paralympic Games and for the first time really, truly believe that Paralympic sport is not just inspirational, it’s hardcore sport,” he said.

“It’s full of triumph, sometimes it has disappointment, but that’s what we look for in sport. We want it to be competitive and that’s what it’s been about.

“I couldn’t have hoped for anything better, this has been one of the biggest highlights of my life.”

The Games has also seen growing calls for single-amputee (T44) runners and double-amputee (T43) runners to split classes. At the moment they compete together.

Sprinter Jerome Singleton claimed it was like comparing “apples to pineapples”, while American David Prince insisted the T44 athletes like him would always be disadvantaged.

“As a single amputee we struggle with balance,” he said. “When I run with my blade I keep a little piece of lead on my toe which helps balance out weight. Bilateral amputees don’t have to deal with that. I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but it’s extremely challenging (to beat double amputees). The kind of training I can do and the kind of training they can do is completely different.”