( CNN ) -- Oscar Pistorius , a South African double-amputee nicknamed the `` Blade Runner , '' made an unprecedented Olympic debut Saturday , finishing second in his 400-meter qualifying heat . With a time of 45.44 seconds , Pistorius qualified for Sunday 's semifinals . The runner 's legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a bone defect . He runs on special carbon fiber blades , hence the nickname . His debut Saturday made him the first Paralympian runner to compete in the able-bodied Olympics and the third overall . Paralympian swimmer Natalie du Toit was in the 2008 Games and table tennis player Natalia Partyka competed in both 2008 and 2012 . High-tech kit speeds athletes into new era . `` To have been selected to represent Team South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the individual 400-meters and the 4x400-meter relay is a real honor , and I am so pleased that years of hard work , determination and sacrifice have all come together , '' he said last month . The 25-year-old got to London after jumping through hurdles . The four-time Paralympic Games gold medalist won a silver medal as part of South Africa 's 4x400-meter relay at the world championships in Daegu , South Korea , last year . But he looked set to be excluded from the individual event in London after failing to run the Olympic ' A ' standard qualification mark twice in international competition . But South African selectors relaxed their qualification rules last month and named him in both events . `` I have a phenomenal team behind me who have helped get me here and will now put everything we can into the final few weeks of preparations before the Olympic Games where I am aiming to race well , post good times and maybe even a personal best time on the biggest stage of them all . '' The Johannesburg-born athlete is joined by Caster Semenya in the South African track and field team . Semenya , an 800-meter world champion , was the subject of a gender test by the International Association of Athletics Federations following her victory in Berlin at the world championships three years ago . She has since been cleared to compete . Human to Hero : Blade Runner 's 2012 Olympic ambition . CNN 's Jonathan Stevenson contributed to this report .
Oscar Pistorius is the first Paralympian runner to compete in the able-bodied Olympics . The 25-year-old runs the 400-meter race and the 4x400-meter relay . He qualified for Sunday 's semifinals in the 400 meters , with a time of 45.44 seconds . Pistorius had both legs amputated when he was 11 months old .