Amputee sprinter Pistorius to compete in Manchester

Oscar Pistorius will run in the 100 and 400 meters at the Manchester event. Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius will compete at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester after recovering from injuries sustained in a boating accident in South Africa.

Organizers said Tuesday that Pistorius will run the 100 meters and 400 meters at the Manchester event on May 24.

The 22-year-old South African sustained head and facial injuries in a boating accident near Johannesburg on Feb. 21 and underwent surgery. He was released from a hospital on Feb. 26.

"I am recovering very well from the accident, better than anticipated," Pistorius said. "If everything keeps on going at this rate ... I will be at full strength at the BT Paralympic World Cup.

"This competition is vital in my preparation and it gives me that vital indication as to where I am lying in my season and my ranking amongst other top athletes."

Pistorius won three gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Beijing last year. He had his legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because he had no calf bones.

Last year, an appeals court overturned a ban by the IAAF, athletics' governing body, which had ruled that his carbon-fiber prosthetic racing blades gave him an unfair advantage.

The ban was overturned in time for the Beijing Olympics, but Pistorius failed to make the qualifying time for the 400 meters.

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