By Tom Degun at the Main Press Centre on the Olympic Park in London

Oscar Pistorius_03-09-121September 3 - Oscar Pistorius has issued an apology for the "timing" of his of attack against Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira, which came immediately after the Brazilian beat him in the T44 200-metre final, however the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) could still punish the South African for it.

After being handed his first defeat in the event by Oliveira, defending champion Pistorius (pictured top, centre) claimed that he had been beaten because of the length of his rivals prosthetic blades as he was forced to settle for silver and claimed he was not running "a fair race".

The four-time Paralympic champion, who also competed at the London 2012 Olympics last month, was quick to release a statement this morning as he looked to defuse the issue.

"I would never want to detract from another athletes' moment of triumph and I want to apologise for the timing of my comments after yesterday's race," it read.

"I do believe that there is an issue here and I welcome the opportunity to discuss with the IPC but I accept that raising these concerns immediately as I stepped off the track was wrong."

Nevertheless, despite the apology from the 24-year-old, the IPC has said it will investigate whether to take any action against the poster boy of the Paralympics.

"In terms of a sanction or a fine for Oscar, I cannot answer that one right now," IPC communications director Craig Spence said at a press conference here.

"It is something we will go away and look at before we make any decision.

"The race is over and Oliveira is the winner.

"I have the piece of paper that shows that all the athletes had their blades measured before the race and Oliveira was cleared to compete.

"There are no problems there at all from our side."

Spence also rebutted claims from Pistorius that his previous concerns about the issue had "fallen on deaf ears".

Alan Fonteles_Cardoso_Oliveira_of_Brazil_is_congratulated_by_Oscar_Pistorius_of_South_Africa_after_winning_gold_in_the_Mens_200m_-_T44Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira (right) is congratulated by Oscar Pistorius after winning gold in the men's T44 200m final

"I had a phone call about six week ago from Oscar where he expressed concern about the length of a particular athlete's blades," said Spence.

"That athlete wasn't Oliveira.

"I got in touch with the IPC Athletics who looked at the issue and they confirmed that the length of the blades of the athlete in question were within the legal limit.

"I got back to Oscar and he said he was really grateful that I came back to him.

"From my point of view the issue was closed after that.

"This week, Oscar's PR agency [London-based Fast Track] called me and said they thought it was something that Oscar would be asked about during the Games.

"Therefore, I knew we would have to face this issue once Oscar was beaten in the final and interviewed by Channel 4 straight after the race.

"But it is one we are ready to face and discuss with Oscar."

Spence however, has looked to make clear the respect of the IPC for Pistorius.

"Oscar is a legend of our sport and has probably done more than anyone to help promote Paralympic sport in the last decade," he said.

"Out of respect for him and what he has done, we feel we owe it to him to sit down with him and have a discussion about the rules.

"But the pressure cooker of the Olympic Stadium obviously wasn't the time or the place to have that discussion.

"Oscar was very emotional after that race and it all came out in an arena with 80,000 people inside it.

"We are looking to sit down with him calmly to discuss any grievances he has."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
September 2012:
 Mike Rowbottom - Pistorius cuts to the chase in the big blade question
September 2012: Irate Pistorius questions rival's blades after controversial Paralympic 200m defeat 
August 2012: Pistorius named flag carrier for South Africa as team departs for Paralympics
August 2012: Pistorius "honoured" to carry South African flag at Olympic Closing Ceremony
August 2012: Amputee Pistorius still has Olympic medal shot as South Africa wins relay appeal