A dream came true for double-amputee Oscar Pistorius yesterday when he was named in the South African team for the World Championships this month.

The ‘Blade Runner’ was selected for the 400 metres and is part of the 4x400 metres relay squad for the biennial competition to be staged between August 27 and September 4 in South Korean city Daegu.

Controversial women’s world 800 metres champion Caster Se-menya was another inclusion in a squad of 21 men and five women with national athletics boss James Evans saying all those who met the qualification times were selected.

“I have dreamt for such a long time of competing in a major championship and this is a very proud moment in my life. It is an honour to be representing my country at such a prestigious event,” Pistorius said.

“I hope to do my best at the competition for South Africa.

“The IAAF is a world-class governing body for our sport and I am grateful to have the chance to run in their events. It will be a great day for me when I set out on the track in Daegu and hope to do my country proud.”

Cleared three years ago to run against able-bodied athletes in meets, 24-year-old Pistorius ac-knowledged that he faced an immense challenge at the World Championships.

“This will be the highest profile and most prestigious able-bodied event which I have competed in and I will face the highest calibre of athletes from across the planet.

“If I manage to make it through the heats, I would be thrilled. A good performance for me would be to be consistent through the heats. If I ran anywhere close to my personal best, I would be delighted.”

Called the ‘Blade Runner’ and the ‘Fastest man with no legs’, Johannesburg-born Pistorius had both legs amputated below the knee for medical reasons when he was 11 months old.