Pistorius views Brit as 'huge threat'

Paralympic great Oscar Pistorius has described Great Britain’s Jonnie Peacock as ‘a huge threat’ to his hopes of defending the T44 100m title in a week’s time.

The event on Thursday 6 September, looks likely to be fought out between South African Pistorius, world champion Jerome Singleton (USA) and 19-year-old Peacock, who has emerged as a force in the last year.

Peacock, from Cambridge, set a new world record of 10.85 seconds during the US Paralympic Track and Field Trials in Indianapolis in July and Pistorius said, “I had to eat my words”.

Pistorius conceded that his aim for the event is just to make the podium, having focused more closely on the 200m and 400m, in which he reached the Olympic semi-final earlier this month.

And he also made it clear he thinks the biggest threat comes from Singleton, who beat Pistorius in the IPC World Championships in New Zealand in 2011, while Peacock finished sixth.

“[Peacock] is a huge threat. My personal opinion, though, is that experience counts a lot,” said Pistorius.

Pistorius still holds the T43 100m world record – for double-amputee athletes – with a mark of 10.91 set in 2007, although American Blake Leeper equaled that time this year.

At his third Games he will aim to defend his Paralympic titles over 100m, 200m and 400m as well as being part of South Africa’s 4x100m relay team.

For further information on this story please contact ParalympicsGB.

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