Athletics
Oscar Pistorius (b1986) was born in the Transvaal, South Africa. As a toddler he was diagnosed with the rare medical condition, Fibular Hemimelia. At a year old, both his legs were amputated below the knees.
He studied at Pretoria Boys High School, and played rugby. Oscar only stopped competitive rugby when he severely hurt himself in a game. Instead, he tried wrestling, water polo and tennis. Disability was not an excuse for Oscar to isolate himself nor did being physically challenged dampen his spirits; he went on to become a renowned athlete.
Pistorius met coach Ampie Louw and prosthetist Francois Van Der Watt early in 2004. The two men encouraged Pistorius to try professional running, Van der Watt helping him get perfectly customised running blades. That year he participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics event, in which he achieved a 3rd place in the 100 ms.
He clearly shocked the sporting world with his amazing athletic skills, by winning more than a dozen gold medals in his events. In 2005 he participated in the Paralympic World Cup. Plus he covered 400 metres in just 47.34 seconds in the able-bodied South African championship event.
Pistorius returned to Pretoria Uni in 2006. In 2007, he participated in the South African Senior Athletics Championship events, creating history by winning in the 100, 200 and 400 ms events in excellent times.
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Oscar Pistorius won the T44 100m event
BT Paralympics World Cup Athletics in Manchester, May 2011
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This handsome, university educated, white, famous athlete claimed the killing was not deliberate. So he was granted bail later that year, since the judiciary agreed the killing was unintentional. In 2014 the athlete was gaoled for 5 years after being charged with culpable homicide-manslaughter. Prosecutors appealed against the manslaughter finding and secured a murder conviction in 2015.
Pistorius was sentenced to 6 years in prison for murder, but prosecutors re-appealed against what they called a shockingly lenient punishment. In 2017 the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein gave Pistorius the minimum 15 years prescribed for murder in South Africa, less time already served.
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The handsome couple, Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius
The double-amputee blade-runner champion from South Africa did not even lose his eight Paralympic medals (6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) after being found guilty of murder. So all my South African friends are not at all confident that the star will be kept securely in gaol for the rest of his sentence.
Oscar Pistorius (b1986) was born in the Transvaal, South Africa. As a toddler he was diagnosed with the rare medical condition, Fibular Hemimelia. At a year old, both his legs were amputated below the knees.
He studied at Pretoria Boys High School, and played rugby. Oscar only stopped competitive rugby when he severely hurt himself in a game. Instead, he tried wrestling, water polo and tennis. Disability was not an excuse for Oscar to isolate himself nor did being physically challenged dampen his spirits; he went on to become a renowned athlete.
Pistorius met coach Ampie Louw and prosthetist Francois Van Der Watt early in 2004. The two men encouraged Pistorius to try professional running, Van der Watt helping him get perfectly customised running blades. That year he participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics event, in which he achieved a 3rd place in the 100 ms.
He clearly shocked the sporting world with his amazing athletic skills, by winning more than a dozen gold medals in his events. In 2005 he participated in the Paralympic World Cup. Plus he covered 400 metres in just 47.34 seconds in the able-bodied South African championship event.
Pistorius returned to Pretoria Uni in 2006. In 2007, he participated in the South African Senior Athletics Championship events, creating history by winning in the 100, 200 and 400 ms events in excellent times.
BT Paralympics World Cup Athletics in Manchester, May 2011
However Pistorius was criticised by the International Association of Athletic Federations/IAAF. IAAF concluded that allowing Pistorius to participate was unfair to other athletes because his specially-made J-shaped artificially legs gave him an edge over them. Nonetheless a determined Oscar appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2008; the outcome was that Pistorius could continue running again.
His dream to participate in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was turned down by a sports committee of South Africa. Instead he participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics event held that year. Oscar then took part in Manchester’s 2011 Paralympic World Cup and proved that he was one of the best sprinters in the world.
His dream to participate in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics was turned down by a sports committee of South Africa. Instead he participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics event held that year. Oscar then took part in Manchester’s 2011 Paralympic World Cup and proved that he was one of the best sprinters in the world.
His Olympic dream came true when he become the first amputee to compete in the regular Olympics, taking part in London’s 2012 Summer Olympics. He ran in a heat of the men's 400-meter and advanced to the semi-finals! Oscar even secured a place in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World”.
The Laureus World sports award for Sportsperson of the Year with a disability,
Feb 2012, The South African
Almost as an aside, Pistorius was indicted on 2 gun-related charges, before 2013. Both cases were in Johannesburg.
The Killing
Pistorius (aged 28) created a tragedy in 2013 when he killed his beautiful live-in girlfriend-model Reeva Steenkamp (1983–2013) with his licensed pistol. Although his girlfriend was not in bed when Pistorius jumped up, he still shot an “unknown” person 4 times through the locked bathroom door. He was long known to be very controlling of women, even when he heard Reeva crying.
Almost as an aside, Pistorius was indicted on 2 gun-related charges, before 2013. Both cases were in Johannesburg.
The Killing
Pistorius (aged 28) created a tragedy in 2013 when he killed his beautiful live-in girlfriend-model Reeva Steenkamp (1983–2013) with his licensed pistol. Although his girlfriend was not in bed when Pistorius jumped up, he still shot an “unknown” person 4 times through the locked bathroom door. He was long known to be very controlling of women, even when he heard Reeva crying.
This handsome, university educated, white, famous athlete claimed the killing was not deliberate. So he was granted bail later that year, since the judiciary agreed the killing was unintentional. In 2014 the athlete was gaoled for 5 years after being charged with culpable homicide-manslaughter. Prosecutors appealed against the manslaughter finding and secured a murder conviction in 2015.
Pistorius was sentenced to 6 years in prison for murder, but prosecutors re-appealed against what they called a shockingly lenient punishment. In 2017 the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein gave Pistorius the minimum 15 years prescribed for murder in South Africa, less time already served.
Parole
8 years after murdering Reeva, Pistorius became legally eligible for parole after serving half his sentence but it was a huge surprise for Barry and June Steenkamp when corrections officials contacted them in Oct 2021. They believed their daughter’s murderer would not be eligible until 2023! That scheduled parole hearing was delayed because a full report on Pistorius’ time in prison was unavailable. So Pistorius’ face-to-face meeting with the Steenkamps still must happen before a parole hearing can go ahead, as is their right under South Africa’s victim-offender dialogue policy. The Steenkamps need to challenge Pistorius on why he shot Reeva in her bathroom! And Oscar knows that parole boards DO consider the opinion of victims families before releasing any offender.
The double-amputee blade-runner champion from South Africa did not even lose his eight Paralympic medals (6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) after being found guilty of murder. So all my South African friends are not at all confident that the star will be kept securely in gaol for the rest of his sentence.