Pistorius retains 400 metres title

South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius brought the curtain down on a summer of thrills in the Olympic Stadium when he won the final Paralympic track gold medal with a dominant display in the men’s 400 metres. It was a happy ending for Pistorius who finished the Paralympic Games with an individual gold after failing to successfully defend the 100 and 200 titles he won in Beijing four years ago. He also won a gold medal in the 4x100 relay. Pistorius finished nearly four seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Blake Leeper who was followed home by David Prince of the United States, while Brazil’s Alan Oliveira, who beat the South African in the 200 this week, finished fourth. “This whole month, this whole season, I’ve had a lot of challenges and I have a lot to thank my coach for,” Pistorius, who also competed in the London Olympics last month, told Channel Four television. “I’m so proud, this summer has been a dream come true and I couldn’t hope for anything better. It’s my 11th time on this track and I wanted to give the crowd something special that they could take home with them.” Pistorius was the heavy favourite with a personal best more than five seconds quicker than the next fastest competitor and from the moment he built a commanding lead shortly after the halfway point the result was never in doubt. The original “Blade Runner” said he had been unsure how Oliveira would approach the race after the Brazilian slowed down in the final 100 metres of his heat. “I didn’t know what sort of race Oliveira would run. He went out very fast in his heat and then jogged the last 100,” said the 25-year-old of his rival, who tired towards the end. Meanwhile, Britain’s David Weir won the men’s wheelchair marathon for his fourth gold of the Games, as the London Paralympic Games entered their final lap on Sunday with a valedictory tour of the city’s streets. In a triumphant finish for the host nation, Weir — dubbed “the Weirwolf” — claimed a clean sweep of four golds out of four races, completing the gruelling 42-kilometre (26.2-mile) course in 1hr 30min 20sec. “It’s a dream come true,” the 33-year-old London Marathon veteran told Britain’s Channel 4 television after beating great rivals Marcel Hug, the “Swiss silver bullet”, into silver and Kurt Fearnley of Australia into bronze. “Obviously I dreamt about winning all my races but it was going to be a tough order. I really had to dig deep.” Weir, who was born with a severed spinal cord which left him unable to use his legs, won the T54 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m titles on the track. He also won the 800m and 1,500m middle-distance double in Beijing.