After appeal, Pistorius and South Africa reach relay final

London, England – Oscar Pistorius will get the chance to run again at the London Olympics, after all.

A collision during the second leg of a preliminary heat for the men's 1,600- meter relay prevented his South Africa team from completing the race, during which Pistorius was slated to run third.

But an appeal of the incident was successful. Because the team was obstructed, it was advanced to the final on Friday, according to a tweet from the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF).

Pistorius, a double amputee who runs with the help of carbon fiber artificial limbs, became the first man to compete in both the Summer and Paralympic Games when he ran the 400m earlier at these games. He qualified for the semifinals with a season-best time, but didn't move on to the final.

The relay represented another medal chance for the 25-year-old, and at least another chance to compete.

But the baton didn't even reach Pistorius during the first heat Thursday. Kenya's Vincent Mumo Kiilu collided with Pistorius' teammate Ofentse Mogawane, running second for South Africa.

"He spiked me," Kiilu said. "I was in front and he spiked me from behind. When you are in front you can't see behind. I was coming across, but he was aware."

South Africa didn't finish, and Kenya was disqualified. Mogawane dislocated his shoulder.

Initially, it looked as though Pistorius wasn't going to have another chance to run. South Africa took silver in the event at the 2011 world championships, and had medal aspirations heading into the event.

"I can't tell you how disappointed I feel. Eleven of 10 if I could give it a number," Pistorius said.

But then he learned the protest was successful and South Africa was moving on."

"IT'S ON!! We in the FINAL," Pistorius said in a tweet.