South Africa's multiple Paralympic champion, a double amputee, had already made history by becoming the first "disabled" athlete to compete on equal terms with able-bodied athletes at a global event, but his ambition of reaching the final proved a bridge too far as he finished in 46.19sec – more than a second slower than his personal best of 45.08, and 0.80 slower than he had run in the previous day's heat.

"I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to be here and I'll have to work on it," Pistorius said.

"I've run with most of these guys before, but in a competition like this they are all running at a world-class level."

He added that he was not disappointed with his performance, saying: "I worked extremely hard to get here.

"I'm happy with my performance tonight - not as quick as I wanted to be, but it's great to have this platform to run on and it's been an unbelievable experience. I'll be back for the relay."

Pistorius added that his exit has reinforced his desire to move onto bigger and better things, with next year's London Olympics and Paralympics at the forefront of his mind.

"I've been very blessed to be part of this sport, but I'm just one athlete," he said.

"You fight for things that you believe in.

"There are many races here that will inspire people.

"I could do both the Paralympics and the Olympics."

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