Canada's Brannen, South Africa's Pistorius fail to reach finals

Nate Brannen of Cambridge, Ont., went down hard in the semifinals of the men's 1,500 metres on Sunday in London, dashing his Olympic dream.

The 29-year-old appeared to be making a move to pass when he was clipped from behind, suffering five long gashes down his calf.

Brannen said he wasn't aware who hit him. Brannen popped back up and finished the race, but was too far back of the leaders to steal a spot in the final.

Athletics Canada protested the race, as rules allow for the possibility of other entrant to the final if that athlete is seriously affected by obstructing or jostling but proceeds to put forth a bona fide effort after contact.

"We felt this was the case as Nate made contact with another runner and went down hard midway through the race," Athletics Canada said in a statement. "He got up and ran hard to place 12th in the semifinal."

However, it was revealed by video that Brannen's misfortune was precipitated when he clipped the heel of a competitor just ahead.

Double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius, meanwhile, failed to reach the Olympic final of the 400 metres, following a bad start with a slow race and finishing last in his semifinal heat on Sunday night.

The first amputee to compete in track at the Olympics never stood a chance after his slow start and finished the race on his fiber carbon blades in 46.54 seconds, .95 of a second behind winner Kirani James of Grenada.

Still, world champion Kirani James immediately walked over to Pistorius after the race and asked to trade name bibs, to keep as a souvenir. The pair shook hands and hugged.

"He's an inspiration for all of us," James said. "He's very special to our sport. He's a great individual — it's time we see him like that and not anything else."

Pistorius is still expected to run the 4x400 relays, which start Thursday. Last year, Pistorius and South Africa won the silver at the world championships.

Pistorius had to fight all the way just to be able to compete at the London Games, taking his case to court to force his way into the most elite open competition. Just finishing in the top 16 at the Olympics was impressive.

"For him to make it to the semifinals and continue to push, I would like to tell him to keep his head up and don't get discouraged," said Chris Brown, a former world indoors champion, who finished second in Pistorius' heat and advanced to the final. "He had more pressure on him than anyone else, so I give him credit for coming out and performing under difficult conditions."

Canada's Drouin, Mason advance to high jump final

Canada's Derek Drouin and Michael Mason both advanced to the high jump final.

Drouin placed sixth in qualifying with a height of 2.29 metres. The Corunna, Ont., was second in Group B behind U.S. high jumper Erik Kynard.

Mason of Nanoose Bay, B.C., is tied for 12th in qualifying with a 2.26-metre jump.

The high jump final is scheduled for Tuesday.