Oscar Pistorius has become the first Paralympian to win a medal at the able-bodied World Athletics Championships, despite not taking part in South Africa's 4x400m final in Daegu.

The 24-year-old was omitted from the team that finished second behind the United States of America, but has qualified for a medal after competing in the heats.

Before the race, Pistorius posted on Twitter: "Haven't been included in final. Pretty gutted."

However, afterwards he added: "Well done to the [South Africa] 4x400m team. Was really hard watching, knowing I deserved to be part of it."

South African manager Magda Botha defended the decision not to select Pistorius, having revealed that his time in qualifying was the slowest.

"Our main focus is to get medals and, based on the facts we received about split times, we decided that LJ van Zyl (who won bronze in the 400m hurdles on Thursday), will run and Oscar will be out," said Botha.

Jamaica finished third and were awarded the bronze medal.