South Africa's "blade runner" Oscar Pistorius has become the first double amputee to compete on the track at the Olympics.

He finished second in his men's 400m heat with a season's best time to reach the semi-finals.

Pistorius, 25, races wearing carbon fibre prosthetic blades after being born without a fibula in both legs.

He raced to huge cheers and looked comfortable throughout as he qualified for the semi-finals with a time of 45.44 seconds - beating a previous season's best of 45.52.