Pistorius set to debut
China climbed to the top of the Paralympics medals table Monday as "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius prepared to make his debut and high-profile Olympian Natalie du Toit aimed for her second gold.
Pistorius, South Africa's double amputee track sensation who is chasing a sprint treble in Beijing, was due to run in the 100m heats at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium in the evening.
Nicknamed after the specially adapted carbon fibre blades he wears, the 21-year-old won a court battle to compete at last month's Olympics but failed to qualify.
Now he has set his sights on a clean sweep in the sprints in his category at the Beijing Paralympics, before setting himself for another shot at competing with able-bodied athletes in the London 2012 Olympics.
Ahead of his Beijing debut, Pistorius admitted to being on edge.
"I think nerves and pressure are good things, but I'm very excited as well," he said.
Meanwhile, compatriot du Toit was eyeing the 100m freestyle gold after winning the 100m butterfly in her category on day one in a world-record time of 1min 6.74sec.
The 24-year-old, who finished 16th in 10km marathon swim in the Olympics, is aiming for four more wins to match her gold tally at the Athens Paralympics, but admitted it would be tough.
"I am not used to sprinting. I need to work on my streamlines, my start and my tumble turn -- it was a bit short this time," she said after finishing first in the 100m freestyle heats on Monday morning.
"The last race, the 50m freestyle, will be the toughest one. It is just one length. Hopefully I will have enough sprint for that."
Du Toit won five golds and a silver at the Athens Paralympics. She lost her left leg in a road accident in 2001, after narrowly missing qualification for the Sydney Olympics a year earlier.
With golds in the women's javelin and women's air pistol during the day's events on Monday, China rose to the top of the medals standings.
The hosts, the United States and Britain all had five golds. However China had 17 medals in total, with the United States second with 10 medals and Britain next with eight.
China, which topped the medals table at the 2004 Athens Paralympics with 63 golds ahead of Britain and Canada, is widely expected to dominate again -- and even more comprehensively than at last month's Olympics.
More than 4,000 competitors from nearly 150 countries and regions are battling for 472 gold medals in 20 sports at the eye-catching venues used for the Olympics such as the "Bird's Nest" and the Water Cube.
The sports at the Paralympics, which ends on September 17, include athletics, swimming, powerlifting, wheelchair fencing and five-a-side and seven-a-side football, as well as the lesser-known goalball and boccia.
China, eager to showcase the progress it has made in catering for the disabled, has adopted the motto "Two Games with Equal Splendour," for the Games, comparing them with the Olympics.
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