I am ready to make history, says 'proud' Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius arrived in London for the Olympics yesterday feeling "a mixture of pride, happiness and anticipation" at the end of a four-year journey that went via sport's highest court, several small athletics stadiums and countless miles on the track.

The South African sprinter will be the first double-amputee athlete to compete at any Olympics when he runs in the 400 metres in London, and his efforts to qualify for the Games have rarely been out of the headlines over the past few years.

"I woke up this morning knowing I was travelling on the day of the opening ceremony and felt a mixture of pride, happiness and anticipation," Pistorius wrote in an email to the Associated Press after arriving from his training camp in northern Italy.

Pistorius had to fight legal battles just for the right to qualify on his carbon-fibre blades, which some argue give him an unfair advantage.

The 25-year-old South African was cleared to compete against able-bodied athletes in 2008 after taking his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"This feels like a long time coming and I am ready!" Pistorius added. "This is going to be, I hope, an incredible few weeks of my life."