Amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius recovering after boating accident

JOHANNESBURG — Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius is expected to be moved out of intensive care within a few days and may be able to return home soon afterward as he responds to treatment for an injury sustained in a boating accident Saturday.

Amelda Swartz, spokeswoman for Johannesburg’s Milpark Hospital, on Monday said Pistorius was doing well and was likely to be moved to a general ward by Wednesday.

And “if all goes well, maybe home by the end of the week,” Swartz said.

Pistorius sustained head and facial injuries in a boat accident near Johannesburg and underwent surgery at Milpark on Sunday.

The sprinter’s manager, Peet van Zyl, said Sunday that Pistorius still hoped to compete in the 100 and 400-meter races at the Paralympic World Championships in Manchester, England, in May — subject to medical clearance. Pistorius is the Paralympic champion in the two disciplines, as well as the 200.

“Oscar will be back on the track sooner rather than later,” Van Zyl said. “He has sustained no leg, arm or rib damage.”

Pistorius, nicknamed the Blade Runner, had his legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because he had no fibulas.

Last year, he won a legal battle to be able to compete against able-bodied athletes after an appeals court overturned objections by athletics governing body the IAAF that his carbon-fiber prosthetic racing blades could give him an unfair advantage.

The IAAF ban that kept him off the track was overturned in time for the Beijing Olympics, but Pistorius missed the 400 qualifying time of 45.55 seconds. He still managed to run a personal best 46.25 while consumed by the legal struggles.

He told The Associated Press in an interview last month that his main goal for this year was to compete against able-bodied athletes at the world championships in Berlin in August and step up his training for the 2012 London Olympics.

Pistorius planned to race in South Africa in February and March before returning to Europe for the meet in Manchester, and then focus on qualifying for Berlin.