Double-amputee Oscar Pistorius won today's 100 meters at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, though he missed his objective of beating his own world record time.

South Africa's Pistorius, nicknamed "Blade Runner" because of his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, finished in 11.17 seconds at the Bird's Nest stadium, about a quarter of a second slower than his world mark of 10.91 set last year.

Pistorius surged past Jerome Singleton of the U.S. in the closing stages to take the title, with another American, Brian Frasure, coming third. Pistorius is also aiming to win golds in the 200 and 400 meters.

"Regardless of what the time was, I'm really happy," Pistorius, 21, told reporters. "This is really a goal and a dream I had for a long time, being able to say that I am an Olympic gold medalist in the 100 meters."

Pistorius was born without his fibula, the smaller of the two bones in the lower legs, and when he was 11 months old both limbs were amputated below the knee.

He took up running as a teenager to recover from a rugby injury and has broken more than 20 Paralympic world marks. He holds world records in his category for the 100, 200 and 400 sprints and won the 200 at the Athens Paralympics in 2004.

The International Association of Athletics Federations, track's ruling body, ruled Pistorius's J-shaped carbon fiber blades gave him an advantage and barred him from competing against able-bodied athletes. In May, he won a ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport that overturned the ban.

He failed to make the Olympic qualifying standard for the 400-meter individual sprint. The South African Olympic Committee bypassed him for its 1,600-meter relay team for the Beijing Games, citing the need to send "faster" runners.