Usain Bolt Booted as 'Bladerunner' Steals Show

Jamaican jumped the gun, while Pistorius advances in men's 400 meter
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 28, 2011 11:40 AM CDT
Usain Bolt Disqualified for False Start; 'Balderunner' Oscar Pistorius Advances to Semis in Men's 400 Meter
Jamaica's Usain Bolt, fourth from bottom, false starts from the Men's 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011.   (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

The fastest man on the planet was disqualified today from the event he's dominated for three years, while the most unlikely runner on the planet advanced to the semis at today's track world championships. Usain Bolt's false start in the men's 100-meter final automatically booted him from the race under the sport's no-tolerance rule, giving fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake the win. "He's human, isn't he? I always knew he was human," Bolt's coach tells the AP . "He will pick himself up. He's a champion."

Meanwhile, South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius , in his first crack at the championships, placed third and will advance to tomorrow's semifinals in the men's 400 meters. The so-called "bladerunner" has generated his share of controversy over the carbon blades on which he runs, but he's proving he deserves the shot. "This is a platform where you work extremely hard to get here," Pistorius says. "Once you get here, you don't want to let it slide." (More Oscar Pistorius stories.)

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