In South Africa, Semenya and Pistorius Fail to Secure Olympics Berths It remained uncertain Saturday whether the South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius would become the first amputee runner to compete in the Olympics. Deryck Foster/Associated Press Oscar Pistorius finished seventh in the 400 meters at his national championships in 47.28 seconds. Caster Semenya retained her national title Saturday, but did not reach the Olympic qualifying standard of 1 minute 59.90 seconds. After a slow start, Pistorius finished seventh in the 400 meters at his national championships in 47.28 seconds, running on carbon fiber blades in windy conditions in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. He remains, however, the only South African who has bettered the Olympic qualifying time of 45.30 seconds, having run 45.20 in a meet last month. The rules of South Africa's track and field association require that Pistorius run one more qualifying time before he is granted a berth in the London Games. He has until the end of June to qualify for the Olympics, which open July 27 in London. Pistorius, 25, was born without fibulas, and he had his lower legs amputated when he was 11 months old. His speed has generated much debate about whether the carbon fiber blades give him an unfair advantage on the track. But he has won the right to compete in top international meets. Last summer, Pistorius ran the open 400 at the world championships in South Korea and won a silver medal as a member of South Africa's 4x400-meter relay team, having competed in a preliminary round. Caster Semenya, whose victory at 800 meters at the 2009 world championships raised questions about her sex, retained her national title Saturday, but did not reach the Olympic qualifying standard of 1 minute 59.90 seconds. Her winning time was 2:02.68. Semenya, 21, does have a qualifying mark of 1:56.35, run at the 2011 world championships, where she won a silver medal. Like Pistorius, though, she is required by her track and field association to run a second race under the qualifying mark. Semenya seems certain to do so, and is considered a gold medal favorite in London. Her new coach is Maria Mutola of Mozambique, the 2000 Olympic champion at 800 meters. After Semenya made her international debut by winning the 2009 world title in a personal best of 1:55.45, track and field's world governing body conducted an extensive inquiry regarding her sex. The results of the inquiry were not made public, but after not competing for nearly a year, Semenya was cleared to race against women.