Oscar Pistorius
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Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius ( , ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African double amputee, former professional sprinter, and convicted murderer. He was the 10th athlete to compete at both the
Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...
and
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
. Pistorius ran in both nondisabled sprint events and in sprint events for below-knee amputees. Both of his legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old as a result of a
congenital defect A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can range from mild to severe. Birth de ...
; he was born missing the outside of both feet and both
fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...
s. Pistorius' athletic career ended when he was convicted of murder in 2015. He was first convicted of
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...
of his then-girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, which was subsequently upgraded to
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
upon appeal. After becoming a Paralympic champion, Pistorius attempted to enter nondisabled international competitions, over persistent objections by the
International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...
(IAAF) and arguments that his artificial limbs gave an unfair advantage. Pistorius prevailed in this legal dispute. At the
2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...
, Pistorius was the first amputee to win a nondisabled world track medal. At the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Pistorius was the first double-leg amputee participant. On 14 February 2013, Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend,
paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...
and model Reeva Steenkamp, in his
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
home. He claimed he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder hiding in the bathroom. He was arrested and charged with murder. At his trial the following year, Pistorius was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...
. He received a five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year
suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
for a separate reckless endangerment conviction both in October 2014. Pistorius was temporarily released on
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
in October 2015 while the case was presented on appeal to a panel at the
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), formerly known as the Appellate Division, is the second-highest appellate court, court of appeal in South Africa below the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court. The country's apex court ...
, which overturned the culpable homicide verdict and convicted him of murder. In July 2016, Judge Thokozile Masipa extended Pistorius's sentence to six years. On appeal by the state for a longer prison sentence, the Supreme Court of Appeal increased the prison term to a total of 15 years less time served. Pistorius was released on parole on 5 January 2024 after serving a total of 8.5 years in prison, in addition to seven months of house arrest.


Early life

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila Pistorius on 22 November 1986 in
Sandton, Johannesburg Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, S ...
, in what was then
Transvaal Province The Province of Transvaal (), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Transvaal" refers to the province's ...
(now Gauteng Province) of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. He grew up in a Christian home and has an elder brother and a younger sister. Pistorius credits his mother, who died at the age of 43 when Pistorius was 15 years old, as a major influence in his life. Pistorius is from an
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...
family with partial
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ancestry from his maternal great-grandfather, who was an Italian emigrant to
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
.
Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
is his mother tongue and he is also fluent in English. Pistorius was born with fibular hemimelia (congenital absence of the
fibula The fibula (: fibulae or fibulas) or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. ...
) in both legs. When he was 11 months old, both of his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles. He attended Constantia Kloof Primary School and Pretoria Boys High School, where he played
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
in the school's third XV team. He played
water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
and tennis at provincial level between the ages of 11 and 13. In addition, Pistorius took part in club Olympic
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
, and trained at Jannie Brooks's garage gym in Pretoria. Brooks remarked that it took six months before he noticed that Pistorius "had no legs", but nonetheless was able to do many exercises, including "boxing, skipping, and doing press-ups". After a serious rugby knee injury in June 2003, Pistorius was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing rehabilitation at the
University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...
's High Performance Centre with coach Ampie Louw, and "never looked back". His first racing blades were fitted by South African prosthetist Francois van der Watt. Because he was unable to find suitable running blades in Pretoria, Van der Watt ordered the pair to be made by a local engineer. However, as these quickly broke, Van der Watt referred Pistorius to American prosthetist and Paralympic sprinter Brian Frasure to be fitted for blades by Icelandic company Össur. Pistorius began studying for a
bachelor of commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...
(B.Com.) in
business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
with
sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...
at the
University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...
in 2006. In a June 2008 interview for his University's website, he joked: "I won't graduate soon. With all the training I have had to cut down on my subjects. Hopefully I'll finish by the time I'm 30!" Asked by a journalist for his "sporting motto", he said: "You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have."


Sporting career

Pistorius competed in T44 (single below-knee amputees) events though he is classified in T43 (double below-knee amputee). Sometimes referred to as the "Blade Runner" (after the
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
film of the same name) and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius took part in the
2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...
in Athens and came third overall in the T44 100-metre event. Despite falling in the preliminary round for the 200 metres, he qualified for the final. He went on to win the final in a world record time of 21.97 seconds, beating a pair of American runners, Marlon Shirley and Brian Frasure, both with single amputations. In 2005, Pistorius finished sixth in the nondisabled South African Championships over 400 metres with a world-record time of 47.34 seconds, and at the Paralympic World Cup in the same year, he won gold in the 100 metres and 200 metres, beating his previous 200-metre world record. At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships, Pistorius won gold in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre events, breaking the world record over 200 metres. On 17 March 2007, he set a disability sports world record for the 400 metres (46.56 seconds) at the South African Senior Athletics Championships in
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
; and at the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled held in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
in April 2007. He became the world record holder of the 100- and 200-metre events with times of 10.91 and 21.58 seconds, respectively. Pistorius was invited by the IAAF to take part in what would have been his first international nondisabled event, the 400-metre race at the IAAF Grand Prix in
Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with  million in the capital region and ...
, in July 2005. He was unable to attend, however, because of school commitments. On 13 July 2007, Pistorius ran in the 400-metre race at Rome's
Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual Track and field, track and field event normally held at the Stadio Olimpico, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 deat ...
and finished second in run B with a time of 46.90 seconds, behind Stefano Braciola who ran 46.72 seconds. This was a warm-up for his appearance at the 400 metres at the
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British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
at the Don Valley Stadium in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
on 15 July 2007. As American Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner stumbled at the start of the race and stopped running, Pistorius took seventh place in a field of eight in wet conditions with a time of 47.65 seconds. However, he was later disqualified for running outside his lane. The race was won by American Angelo Taylor with a time of 45.25 seconds. Pistorius had ambitions of competing in other non-disabled events. In particular, he had set his sights on competing at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in
Beijing, China Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, but was not selected by the South African Olympic Committee.


Dispute over prostheses

Pistorius has been the subject of criticism because of claims that his artificial limbs give him an advantage over runners with natural ankles and feet. He runs with J-shaped carbon-fibre prostheses called the " Flex-Foot Cheetah" developed by biomedical engineer Van Phillips and manufactured by Össur. On 26 March 2007, the
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...
amended its competition rules to include a ban on the use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels, or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device". The IAAF stated that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius. To decide whether he was running with an unfair advantage, the IAAF monitored his track performances using high-definition cameras to film his race against Italian club runners in Rome on 13 July, and his 400 metres in Sheffield on 15 July 2007, at which he placed last. In November 2007, Pistorius was invited to take part in a series of scientific tests at the German Sports University Cologne under the guidance of Professor of Biomechanics Dr Peter Brüggemann in conjunction with Elio Locatelli, who was responsible for all technical issues in the IAAF. After two days of tests, Brüggemann reported on his findings on behalf of the IAAF. The report claimed that Pistorius's limbs used 25% less energy than runners with complete natural legs running at the same speed, and that they led to less vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body. In December, Brüggemann told ''
Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...
'' newspaper that Pistorius "has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us. It was more than just a few percentage points. I did not expect it to be so clear." Based on these findings, on 14 January 2008, the IAAF ruled Pistorius's prostheses ineligible for use in competitions conducted under the IAAF rules, including the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Pistorius called the decision "premature and highly subjective" and pledged to continue fighting for his dream. His manager, Peet van Zylm, said his appeal would be based on advice from experts in the United States who had said that the report "did not take enough variables into consideration". Pistorius subsequently appealed against the decision to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
(CAS) in
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
, Switzerland, and appeared before the tribunal at the end of April 2008. After a two-day hearing, on 16 May 2008, CAS upheld Pistorius's appeal and the IAAF council decision was revoked with immediate effect. The CAS panel unanimously determined that Brüggemann tested Pistorius's biomechanics only at full-speed when he was running in a straight line (unlike a real 400-metre race); that the report did not consider the disadvantages that Pistorius has at the start and acceleration phases of the race; and that overall there was no evidence that he had any net advantage over non-disabled athletes. In response to the announcement, Pistorius said: "My focus throughout this appeal has been to ensure that disabled athletes be given the chance to compete and compete fairly with non-disabled athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify for the Olympics."


Attempts to qualify for 2008 Summer Olympic Games

To have a chance of representing South Africa at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in the individual 400-metre race, Pistorius had to attain the Olympic "A" standard time of 45.55 seconds; the "B" qualifying time of 45.95 seconds, which applies if no other athlete from his country achieved the faster time, did not apply. Each national athletics federation is permitted to enter three athletes in an event if the "A" standard is met, and only one athlete if the "B" standard is met. However, he was eligible for selection as a member of the
relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...
squad without qualifying. His best chance was to try for a time of close to 46 seconds to make the 4 × 400-metre relay team. However, he said: "If I make the team I don't want to be the reserve for the relay, I want to be in the top four. I want to bring something to the race and make the relay stronger." To give him a chance of making the South African Olympic team, selectors delayed naming the team until 17 July. On 2 July 2008, Pistorius competed in the 400 metres in the B race of the Notturna International in Milan but was "disappointed" when at 47.78 seconds his fourth-place finish was over the minimum Olympic qualifying time.. See also His performance on 11 July 2008 at the Rome Golden Gala was an improvement of more than a second, though his sixth-place time of 46.62 seconds in the B race was still over the Olympic qualification time. Nonetheless, he was pleased with his performance, commenting that he felt he could improve on it. On 15 July 2008, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss commented that the world athletics body preferred that the South African Olympic Committee not select Pistorius for its 4 × 400 metres relay team "for reasons of safety", saying that Pistorius could cause "serious damage" and risk the physical safety of himself and other athletes if he ran in the main pack of the relay. Pistorius branded this as the IAAF's "last desperate attempt" to get him not to qualify, and threatened legal action if the IAAF did not confirm that it had no objections to his participation in the relay. The IAAF responded by issuing a statement saying that Pistorius was welcome to seek qualification for the Olympics and future competitions under IAAF rules: "The IAAF fully respects the recent CAS decision regarding the eligibility of Oscar Pistorius to compete in IAAF competitions, and certainly has no wish to influence the South African Olympic Committee, who has full authority to select a men's 4 × 400m relay team for the Beijing Olympics."; Coming third, with a personal best time of 46.25 seconds, at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in
Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
, Switzerland, on 16 July 2008, Pistorius failed to qualify for the 400 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games by 0.70 seconds. Athletics South Africa later announced that he would also not be selected for the 4 × 400 metres relay team as four other runners had better times.See also ; ; Pistorius would not have been the debut leg amputee to participate in the Olympic Games as
George Eyser George Louis Eyser (August 31, 1870 – March 6, 1919) was a German American, German-American Artistic gymnastics, gymnast who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics, earning six medals in one day, including three gold and two silver medals. Ey ...
had competed earlier. Pistorius's compatriot Natalie du Toit, a swimmer whose left leg was amputated above the knee after a traffic accident, was the debut amputee Olympian, at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Asked about the possibility of the IAAF offering him a wild card to take part in the Olympics, Pistorius responded: "I do not believe that I would accept. If I have to take part in the Beijing Games I should do it because I qualified." He expressed a preference for focusing on qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, stating that it was a more realistic target as "sprinters usually reach their peak between 26 and 29. I will be 25 in London and I'll also have two, three years' preparation."


2008 Summer Paralympics

Pistorius participated in the
2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
in Beijing in the 100, 200 and 400 metres (T44). On 9 September, in the heats of the 100 metres, he set a Paralympic record with his time of 11.16 seconds. Later, following a slow start, he rallied to snatch gold from the United States' Jerome Singleton in the 100 metres in a time of 11.17 seconds, 0.03 seconds ahead of the silver medallist.; ; ; Four days later, on 13 September, the defending Paralympic champion in the 200-metre sprint won his second gold in the event in a time of 21.67 seconds,; ; setting another Paralympic record. He completed a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
by winning gold in the 400 metres in a world-record time of 47.49 seconds on 16 September, calling it "a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life".


2011 and qualification for 2012 Summer Olympic Games

In January 2011, a slimmer, trimmer Pistorius won three IPC Athletics World titles in New Zealand but was beaten for the first time in seven years in the 100 metres by Jerome Singleton. He subsequently won the T44 400 metres in 47.28 seconds and the 100 metres in 11.04 seconds at the BT Paralympic World Cup in May to reassert himself as the world's leading Paralympic sprinter. Pistorius competed across a number of non-disabled races in the summer of 2011 and posted three times under 46 seconds, but it was at the 19th Internazionale di Atletica Sports Solidarity Meeting in Lignano, Italy, on 19 July, that he set a personal best of 45.07 seconds in the 400 metres, attaining the World Championships and Olympic Games "A" standard qualification mark. Pistorius won the 400-metres event with a posted time that ranked him as 15th fastest in the world. On 8 August 2011, it was announced that Pistorius had been included in the South African team for the World Championships in
Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...
, South Korea, and had been selected for the 400-metre and the 4 × 400 metre relay squad. In the heats of the 400 metres, Pistorius ran in 45.39 seconds and qualified for the semi-final. However, in the semi-final, he ran 46.19 seconds and was eliminated. In the heats of the 4 × 400 metres relay, Pistorius ran the opening leg as South Africa advanced to the finals with a national record time of 2 minutes 59.21 seconds. However, he was not selected to run in the finals since he had the slowest split time of 46.20 seconds. This caused a controversy, as the first leg is normally Pistorius's slowest since it requires a start from blocks, and he was restricted to the first leg by Athletics South Africa "on safety grounds". He initially tweeted: "Haven't been included in final. Pretty gutted.", but later added: "Well done to the SA 4 × 400 m team. Was really hard watching, knowing I deserved to ." Pistorius still won the silver medal because he ran in the heats, becoming the first amputee to win a non-disabled world track medal. Reflecting on his World Championship debut, Pistorius said: "I really enjoyed the whole experience. I ran my second fastest time ever in the heats and was really pleased to have reached the semi-finals. In the relay, I was unbelievably chuffed to have broken the South African record, and hopefully my name will stay on that for a long time to come." On 4 July 2012, the
South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) () is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for South Africa, and the responsible body for South Africa at the Commonwealth Games. It i ...
(SASCOC) announced that Pistorius had been included in the Olympic team for the 400-metre and the 4 × 400 metres relay races.


2012 Summer Olympic Games

At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games on 4 August 2012, Pistorius became the debut amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games. In the 400-metre race, he took second place in the first heat of five runners, finishing with a time of 45.44 seconds (his best time that season) to advance to the semi-finals on 5 August.; He ran in the second semi-final, where he finished eighth and last with a time of 46.54 seconds. In the first semi-final of the 4 × 400 metres relay race on 9 August, the second leg runner of the South African team, Ofentse Mogawane, fell and was injured before reaching the third leg runner, Pistorius. South Africa was passed into the final on appeal to the IAAF, due to interference by Vincent Kiilu, the Kenyan athlete who downed Mogawane. The South African relay team eventually finished eighth out of the field of nine in the final on 10 August. However, it established a season's best time for the team of 3 minutes 3.46 seconds, with Pistorius running the final leg in 45.9 seconds. Pistorius was chosen to carry the South African flag for the closing ceremony.


2012 Summer Paralympics

Pistorius also carried the flag at the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.
of the
2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...
on 29 August. He entered the T44 classification men's 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres races, and the T42–T46 4 × 100 metres relay. In the 200-metre competition, Pistorius established a new T43 world record of 21.30 seconds in his heat on 1 September, but he was defeated in the final the next day by Alan Oliveira of Brazil. Pistorius took silver, and subsequently complained about the length of Oliveira's blades. He later apologised for the timing of his remarks, but not the content of his complaint. The IPC confirmed the length of Oliveira's blades were proportional to his body, with all the finalists measured before the race. The IPC also confirmed that Pistorius had raised the issue of blade length with it six weeks prior to the race. SASCOC issued a statement welcoming Pistorius's apology for his outburst, declared its full support for him and promised to assist him in discussions with the IPC about the issue of lengthened prostheses after the conclusion of the Games. The IPC expressed willingness to engage with Pistorius about the issue. Australian runner Jack Swift and American runner Jerome Singleton also expressed support for Pistorius's position. Pistorius won a team gold medal on 5 September, running the anchor leg as part of the South African 4 × 100 metres relay team setting a team world record time of 41.78 seconds.; His Beijing Olympics 100-metre title was defended with a season's best time of 11.17 seconds but was succeeded by Great Britain's
Jonnie Peacock Jonathan Peacock (born 28 May 1993) is an English sprint runner... An amputee, Peacock won gold at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics, representing Great Britain in the T44 men's 100 metres event. He won a bronze medal ...
. On 8 September, the last full day of competition, Pistorius won gold in the T44 400 metres with a time of 46.68 seconds, breaking the Paralympic record.


Achievements


Disability sports events


Non-disabled sports events


Other awards and accolades

In 2006, Pistorius was conferred the Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze (OIB) by then
President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence F ...
,
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...
, for outstanding achievement in sports. On 9 December 2007, Pistorius was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award, which is conferred for outstanding courage and achievement in the face of adversity. This was later revoked following his conviction for murder. In May 2008, Pistorius made the "
Time 100 ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...
" – ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's annual list of the world's most influential people – appearing third in the "Heroes & Pioneers" section. Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb
Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...
, wrote in an essay that Pistorius was "on the cusp of a paradigm shift in which disability becomes ability, disadvantage becomes advantage. Yet we mustn't lose sight of what makes an athlete great. It's too easy to credit Pistorius's success to technology. Through birth or circumstance, some are given certain gifts, but it's what one does with those gifts, the hours devoted to training, the desire to be the best, that is at the true heart of a champion." In 2012, he made the list again. In February 2012, Pistorius was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for 2012. On 22 August 2012, he was honoured with the unveiling of a large mural depicting his achievements in the town of Gemona, Italy. On 9 September 2012, Pistorius was shortlisted by the IPC for the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award as a competitor "who is fair, honest and is uncompromising in his or her values and prioritises the promotion of the Paralympic Movement above personal recognition". According to director Craig Spence, he was nominated by an unnamed external organisation from South Korea. The award went to two other athletes. After the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the
University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...
in Glasgow announced it would confer on Pistorius, among others, an honorary doctorate. In February 2015, following his conviction for culpable homicide, the university revoked the honorary degree.


Sponsorship and charitable activities

In 2012, Pistorius had sponsorship deals worth US$2 million a year with Össur, BT, Nike, Oakley and
Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fol ...
. He also participated as a model in advertising campaigns. Following the murder charge, sponsors were initially hesitant to abandon him, but after a week sponsors began to withdraw their support. In 2008, Pistorius collaborated in the release of a music CD called ''Olympic Dream''. Produced in Italy, it consists of
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es of music pieces that Pistorius finds inspirational, and two tracks written for him, "Olympic Dream" and "Run Boy Run", for which he provided voiceovers. Part of the CD's proceeds of sale went to charity. Pistorius also actively supports the Mineseeker Foundation, a charity that works to raise awareness for landmine victims and has a support programme to provide prostheses for survivors.


Personal life

Pistorius is related to the South African psychological profiler, Micki Pistorius, who is his aunt. Pistorius has three visible tattoos: the dates of his mother's birth and death ("LVIII V VIII – II III VI" – 8 May 1958 – 6 March 2002) are tattooed on the inside of his right arm; on his back is the Bible verse which begins, "I do not run like a man running aimlessly"; on his right arm are the Olympic rings and olive wreath. He lived in Silverwoods Country Estate, Pretoria. The house was sold in June 2014. Aside from running, his interests include architecture, motorcycling, playing the
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
, and breeding race horses. In February 2009, Pistorius was seriously injured when he was thrown from a boat in an accident on the
Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Oce ...
near Johannesburg. He was airlifted to
Milpark Hospital The Milpark Hospital is a private hospital in western Parktown, Johannesburg, in the area known as Milpark, and owned by Netcare Limited. It has a level 1 accredited trauma unit, and cardiology and cardio-thoracic services. It has 346 beds, o ...
, where he underwent surgery to repair broken facial bones, including his nose and jaw. There were initial concerns about his fitness, but he recovered fully. However, the accident affected his training and running schedule for that year.


Golf

In 2010, Pistorius played in the Laureus World Sports Awards Golf Challenge at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and the Help-net Fund Celebrity Charity Golf Day. He was scheduled as an amateur
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
er in the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship held at
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
,
Carnoustie Carnoustie (; ) is a town and former police burgh in the subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the UK census 2011, 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of ...
and Kingsbarns in Scotland. Pistorius has a 21 handicap in South Africa, but played off an 18 handicap for the Championship.


Publications and media appearances

Pistorius's autobiography, ''Dream Runner'', was published in Italian in 2007 with Gianni Merlo, a journalist with ''
La Gazzetta dello Sport (; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018). History and profile was fou ...
''. An English version titled ''Blade Runner'' was released in 2008. In 2010, Pistorius appeared on '' L'isola dei famosi'', an Italian version of '' Celebrity Survivor''. On 7 January 2012, he appeared as a special guest on the Italian version of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
'' called '' Ballando con le Stelle'' at Auditorium Rai in Rome, where he danced a tango with Annalisa Longo to
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
's " The Winner Takes It All". On 9 October 2012, Pistorius appeared on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...
''. He was also scheduled to appear on '' Piers Morgan Tonight'' and the '' Larry King Now'' show at later dates.


Murder of Reeva Steenkamp

In the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013, Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp at his home in
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
. Pistorius admitted that he shot Steenkamp four times, causing her death, but claimed he mistook her for a possible intruder. Pistorius's murder trial began on 3 March 2014 in the Pretoria High Court. On 20 May 2014, the trial proceedings were adjourned until 30 June to enable Pistorius to undergo psychiatric evaluation to establish whether he could be held criminally responsible for shooting Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa agreed to a request for the evaluation by prosecutor Gerrie Nel after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster testified for the defence that she had diagnosed Pistorius with generalised anxiety disorder. On 30 June 2014, the trial resumed after the evaluation reports said Pistorius could be held criminally responsible. The state prosecutor was quoted as saying, "Mr. Pistorius did not suffer from a mental illness or defect that would have rendered him not criminally responsible for the offence charged." The defense closed its case on 8 July and closing arguments were heard on 7 and 8 August. On 12 September, Pistorius was found guilty of
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...
and one firearm-related charge of reckless endangerment related to discharging a firearm in a restaurant. He was found not guilty of two other firearm-related charges relating to possession of illegal ammunition and firing a firearm through the sunroof of a car. On 21 October 2014, he received a prison sentence of a maximum of five years for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for the separate reckless endangerment conviction.


First prison term

In June 2015, Pistorius was recommended for early release, as early as August. South African Commissioner of Correctional Services Zach Modise told the BBC of the decision by the case management committee at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, where Pistorius was being held: "Under South African law he is eligible for release under 'correctional supervision' having served a sixth of his sentence." After Pistorius served approximately one-sixth of his prison term, his release date to house arrest was announced for 21 August 2015. This release was based on good behaviour and the fact that he was not considered a danger to the community. Pistorius was expected to remain under house arrest and correctional supervision, and was expected to perform
community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...
as part of his continuing sentence. Regardless of his release from prison, Pistorius could not return to official athletic competition until the whole five years of his sentence was complete. On 19 August 2015, his release was unexpectedly blocked by South Africa's Justice Minister Michael Masutha. According to Masutha, the parole board's decision for early release was "premature". Legal experts noted that the move could have been due to political pressure and had implications for other cases of pending early release. He was released from prison on 19 October 2015.


Case appeal

On 4 November 2014, prosecutors applied to the sentencing judge for permission to
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
the culpable homicide verdict, stating that the five-year prison term was "shockingly light, inappropriate and would not have been imposed by any reasonable court". Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled on 10 December 2014 that the prosecution could challenge her ruling of acquitting Pistorius of
premeditated murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...
and convicting him of the lesser charge of
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...
; however she ruled that the state could not appeal the length of the sentence. The case was then set for appeal in front of a five-person panel at the Supreme Court of Appeal. The date for prosecutors to submit court papers outlining their arguments was set for 17 August 2015, and the date for the defence team's response was set for 17 September 2015. The date for the appeal hearing was set for November 2015. The prosecutors' argument rested on Judge Masipa's application of the legal principle of '' dolus eventualis'' (whether an accused did actually foresee the outcome of his actions, rather than whether he or she should have), and that the judge made an error in concluding Pistorius had not foreseen that by firing four shots through the closed door of the toilet cubicle, he would kill or injure whoever was behind the door. The appeal was heard on 3 November 2015, in the Supreme Court of Appeal,
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...
. The matter was heard before five Supreme Court judges. By a unanimous decision, the court overturned Pistorius's culpable homicide conviction and found him guilty of murder in the death of Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Eric Leach read the summary of judgment. The panel of five judges found for the prosecutor's argument that Pistorius must have known that someone would die if he fired through the closed door into a small toilet cubicle. In the words of Judge Leach, "Although he may have been anxious, it is inconceivable that a rational person could have believed he was entitled to fire at this person with a heavy-calibre firearm, without taking even that most elementary precaution of firing a warning shot, which the accused said he elected not to fire as he thought the
ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...
might harm him." According to the judgment, the person who Pistorius thought was in the cubicle had nothing to do with the results of his actions. The culpable homicide verdict was replaced with a murder conviction, and the case was referred back to the trial court for a sentencing hearing when it reconvened on 18 April 2016. On 8 December 2015, it was announced Pistorius would continue to remain free on bail but under house arrest pending his appeal to the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
. On 3 March 2016, it was announced Pistorius had been denied his right to appeal, and would next be due in court on 13 June 2016 to begin a five-day sentencing hearing for the murder conviction, concluding on 17 June 2016. On 15 June 2016, the sentencing was adjourned by Judge Thokozile Masipa until 6 July 2016.


Second prison term

On 6 July 2016, Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years' imprisonment for murder, rather than her original sentencing of five years' imprisonment for culpable homicide; once again he was incarcerated in the hospital wing at the Kgosi Mampuru II jail. It was anticipated that Pistorius would be eligible for release on parole, after serving three years of his sentence, in 2019. On 7 August 2016, Pistorius was treated at Kalafong Hospital, in Pretoria, after sustaining minor injuries to his wrists after slipping in his cell. Media reports of Pistorius injuring himself intentionally were said to be "completely untrue" by his brother Carl, who added that he was "doing well given the circumstances". On 21 July 2016, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that it would appeal against Judge Thokozile Masipa's "shockingly lenient" 6-year jail sentence. The appeal hearing took place on 26 August 2016 and the bid to appeal the sentence was rejected by Masipa, who said that the NPA had "no reasonable prospect of success" of securing a longer prison sentence for Pistorius. The NPA was then given 21 days to take its appeal bid to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). On 15 September 2016, it was confirmed that the NPA would make a fresh bid to extend Pistorius's jail sentence and would file papers to the SCA on 16 September. After this announcement, sources associated with Pistorius's family and the defence team accused Gerrie Nel and the NPA of pursuing a "personal vendetta" against Pistorius. Pistorius was briefly released from prison for four hours on 14 October 2016 through a compassionate leave license to attend the funeral service of his grandmother, who died on 8 October 2016. In November 2016, Pistorius was transferred from the Kgosi Mampuru jail to Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, which is smaller and better adapted for disabled prisoners because it has better facilities for inmates including bathtubs in cells. It also holds prisoners who are serving six-year sentences or less. In March 2023 it was announced that a parole board would consider an early release for Pistorius on 31 March, despite his serving just half of his sentence. Pistorius' release was opposed by Barry and June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp's parents. Ahead of the hearing, June Steenkamp said Pistorius was "not remorseful or rehabilitated". According to his parole lawyer, Pistorius had been a model prisoner, a factor taken into account for parole. If he had been granted parole, the parole board would have had several options ranging from full parole to day parole, or correctional supervision. Pistorius was denied parole, with a lawyer for the Steenkamp family stating that "we were … advised at this point in time that it has been denied and it will be considered again in one year's time".


Sentence appeals and parole proceedings

The SCA heard the state's arguments appealing to extend Pistorius's sentence on 3 November 2017, with its final ruling being confirmed on 24 November 2017. On 24 November 2017, the SCA increased Pistorius's jail sentence to 13 years and five months. Prosecutors had argued that the six-year term was too short. The SCA ruled his sentence be increased to 15 years, less time already served. On 19 December 2017, it was confirmed that Pistorius had filed papers with the Constitutional Court to appeal the newly increased sentence and have his previous six-year sentence reinstated. On 9 April 2018 the appeal was dismissed by the courts; Pistorius was not to be eligible for parole until at least 2023. After an additional hearing, parole was again denied on 31 March 2023. On 24 November 2023, it was announced that Pistorius was to be released on parole. Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June Steenkamp, did not oppose his parole because she "simply cannot muster the energy to face him again at this stage". Pistorius was released on parole on 5 January 2024 with conditions in place until his sentence expires on 5 December 2029.


Steenkamp Foundation

Reeva Steenkamp's mother told the hosts of the British television programme '' This Morning'' that she had forgiven Pistorius during his trial. She founded the Reeva Steenkamp Foundation to help prevent "similar cases" in the future.


In popular culture

An unofficial biopic based on public records titled ''Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer'', was aired on 18 November 2017 on South African TV. The movie was made without the consent of either the Pistorius or Steenkamp families. The Pistorius family threatened legal action against
Lifetime Movies LMN, an initialism for the Lifetime Movie Network, also known as Lifetime Movies, is an American pay television television network, network launched on June 29, 1998 and owned by the Lifetime Entertainment Services subsidiary of A+E Global Media, ...
, the American television network that produced the movie. However, the lawsuit never went to trial. In 2018,
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...
released a four-part documentary series on its video service titled ''Pistorius''. A four-part documentary titled ''The Life and Trials of Oscar Pistorius'' aired on
ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...
in 2020.


Notes


References

* * * * *


Further reading

* * Van Hilvoorde, Ivo; Landeweerd, Laurens (2008),
Disability or Extraordinary Talent – Francesco Lentini (Three Legs) versus Oscar Pistorius (No Legs
", Sport, Ethics and Philosophy 2 (2): 97–111, * * * *


External links

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