Last chance for Pistorius

Amputee sprinter needs lifetime best to make Olympics

Oscar Pistorius is running against the clock in his final attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

The double-amputee sprinter will run in the 400 meters today at Lucerne, Switzerland, knowing he must run the fastest time of his life to persuade South African selectors to include him in the Beijing team that they'll announce the next day.

Pistorius, 21, also knows at least one senior official from the sport's governing body doesn't want him at the games.

"It's a decision that rests with the officials of the federation and the South African Olympic Committee, but we'd prefer that they don't select him for reasons of safety," Pierre Weiss, general secretary of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, said through a spokesman.

The IAAF barred Pistorius from running against able-bodied athletes in January, arguing that his Cheetah prosthetic racing blades give him a competitive advantage. Pistorius won his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, leaving him only two months to make up for lost training time.

CANOEING CHAMPION DIES: Gyorgy Kolonics, a canoeing gold medalist at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, died Tuesday in Budapest, Hungary, after collapsing in his canoe while training for the Beijing Games, his fifth Olympics. He was 36.

Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him, the Hungarian Olympic Committee said. The committee cited heart failure as the probable cause of death.

CUBAN CYCLIST IN COMA: Pedro Pablo Perez, 31, a star Cuban cyclist who competed at the Sydney Olympics, was in a coma after a car crash Monday and will miss the Beijing Games, the Communist Party newspaper Granma said Tuesday.

USA VOLLEYBALL PICKS MEN'S TEAM: Lloy Ball and Reid Priddy were among the players chosen Tuesday for the U.S. men's indoor volleyball roster for Beijing.

The roster must be confirmed by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Ball, a 6-foot-8 setter, will be playing in his fourth Olympics. Middle blocker Tom Hoff makes his third Olympics and outside hitter Priddy makes his second.

IRAN'S TEAM INVITED TO UTAH: Iran's national basketball team has been invited by the NBA to train in Utah and play against NBA and NBADL teams in preparation for Beijing.

NOWITZKI LEADS GERMANY: Slovenia, Germany, Puerto Rico and Brazil won and reached the quarterfinals of the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament Tuesday at Athens, Greece.

Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks scored 16 points to lead Germany to a 104-68 win over Cape Verde in its opening game.

Croatia, Greece and New Zealand are in the quarterfinals. Canada and South Korea will play for the final spot today.

TENNIS PLAYERS WITHDRAW: Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Stefan Koubek and Karin Knapp withdrew Tuesday from the Olympic tennis tournament because of injuries.

Tsonga will be replaced by Michael Llodra, and Koubek will be replaced by Chris Guccione of Australia in men's singles. Mara Santangelo will replace her Italian teammate in women's singles.

DISGRACED SPRINTER ON OLYMPIC LIST: Doping-tainted sprinter Katerina Thanou has been included in Greece's provisional team list for Beijing.

Isidoros Kouvelos, vice president of the Greek Olympic Committee, said she met the 100-meter qualifying time by running 11.39 at a Greek meet on Monday.

Thanou, 33, served a two-year ban after missing a doping test before the 2004 Athens Olympics. She and fellow Greek sprinter Costas Kenteris were accused of staging a motorcycle accident after missing the test.