LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Stars from around the world shined on Saturday at the Olympics, as wins by Serena Williams and the USA Men's Basketball team grabbed headlines. But it was the qualifying run for a man with no legs that caught everyone's eye.
Double-amputee Oscar Pistorius, 25, achieved his Olympics dream Saturday by advancing to the men's 400-meter semi-final. The South African sprinter, dubbed the 'Blade Runner,' competes with the help of his Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs.
Pistorius was born with fibular hemimelia, or a congenital absence of the fibula bone in his lower legs. He received a double amputation when he was 11 months old. Since childhood, he has competed in multiple sports.
Today he became the first athlete to ever compete in both the Paralympics and Olympics.
Also in track, Jamaican superstar runner Usain Bolt also qualified to advance to the semifinals of men's 100-meters.
The five-time world record holder and three-time gold medalist stumbled in his preliminary round today but still qualified with ease to move onto the next stage.
In other Olympics news, tennis star Serena Williams easily won gold today against Russia's Maria Sharapova, besting her 6-1, 6-0 in the women's Olympic tennis final.
The gold is the first Olympic singles medal for Williams, who has previously won two doubles titles with her sister Venus.
Also, in basketball, the United States team beat Lithuania in a close 99-94 game Saturday. While the U.S. team played a very disorganized game for much of the day, Miami Heat star LeBron James took over in the fourth quarter to push the team to the win.
The U.S. is currently leading in the medal standings with 24 golds, 11 silver and 13 bronze. China is in second with 22-16-10 and home-team the United Kingdom in third at 11-7-8.
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