Pistorius bests Oliveira for relay gold

Sep 5 2012

Oscar Pistorius gained revenge for his shock 200 metres defeat by holding off his Brazilian conqueror on the final leg of the 4x100m relay to claim a belated first gold medal of London 2012.

The 25-year-old brought the South African team home in a new world record of 41.78 seconds to crown a night which saw the great blade debate take another twist.

Pistorius was pitted in direct opposition with Alan Fonteles Oliveira and American Blake Leeper, both of whose long blades he had fiercely criticised in the wake of his shock loss on Sunday. But he held off the Brazilian strongly down the home straight to roars from the crowd.

Brazilian and American disappointment was compounded when both teams, who had come home second and third respectively, were disqualified.