Oscar Pistorius South African sprint runner

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (/pɪsˈtɔriəs/; born 22 November 1986) is a South African sprint runner. Although both of Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, he competes in events for single below-knee amputees and for able-bodied athletes.
At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men's 400 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay races. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Pistorius won gold medals in the men's 400 metre race and in the 4 × 100 metres relay, setting world records in both events. He also took a silver in the 200 metres race, having set a world record in the semifinal.
On 14 February 2013, Pistorius was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he fatally shot[10] at his home in the early hours of that morning. He was granted bail eight days later and must appear before court in June 2013


Early years and education

Oscar Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila Pistorius on 22 November 1986 in Sandton, Johannesburg, in what was then Transvaal Province (now Gauteng Province) of South Africa.[1] He grew up in a Christian home,[11] and has an elder brother, Carl, and a younger sister, Aimée.[12][13] Pistorius credits his late mother, who died at the age of 43 when Pistorius was 15 years old, as a major influence in his life.[14][15] He is a White South African with Italian ancestry from his mother's grandfather, an Italian emigrant to Kenya.[16][17]
Pistorius was born with fibular hemimelia (congenital absence of the fibula) in both legs. When he was 11 months old, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles.[3] He attended Constantia Kloof Primary[18] and Pretoria Boys High School[1][19] where, between the ages of 11 and 13, he played rugby union in the school's third XV team, water polo and tennis. He also played water polo and tennis at provincial level. In addition, Pistorius took part in club Olympic wrestling,[20][21][22] and trained at Jannie Brooks's garage gym in Pretoria, South Africa.[23] After a serious rugby knee injury in June 2003, he was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing rehabilitation at the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre[24] with coach Ampie Louw, and "never looked back".[21] His first racing blades were fitted by South African prosthetist Francois Vanderwatt. Because he was unable to find suitable running blades in Pretoria, Vanderwatt ordered some to be made by a local engineer. However, as these quickly broke, Vanderwatt referred Pistorius to American prosthetist and Paralympic sprinter Brian Frasure to be fitted for blades by Icelandic company Össur.[25]
Pistorius began studying for a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)[12] in business management with sports science at the University of Pretoria in 2006.[20][21][26] 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!"[12] 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."[21]
[edit]Sporting career



Pistorius taking part in the Landsmót ungmennafélags Íslands in Kópavogur, Iceland, in July 2007
Pistorius, who has double below-knee amputations, competes in T44 (single below knee amputees) events though he is actually classified in T43 (double below knee amputee).[27] Sometimes referred to as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs",[22][28][29] Pistorius took part in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens and came third overall in the T44 (one leg amputated below the knee)[22] 100-metre event.[30] Despite falling in the preliminary round for the 200 metres, he qualified for the final.[31] He went on to win the final in a world record time of 21.97 seconds, besting a pair of American runners both possessing a single amputation, Marlon Shirley and Brian Frasure.[30]
In 2005, Pistorius finished sixth in the able-bodied South African Championships over 400 metres with a world-record time of 47.34 seconds,[22] 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.[32][33] At the 2006 Paralympic Athletics World Championships, Pistorius won gold in the 100, 200 and 400-metre events, breaking the world record over 200 metres.[34] 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,[35] and at the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled held in Johannesburg 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.[7][36]
Pistorius was invited by the IAAF to take part in what would have been his first international able-bodied event, the 400-metre race at the IAAF Grand Prix in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2005. He was unable to attend, however, because of school commitments.[37] On 13 July 2007, Pistorius ran in the 400-metre race at Rome's Golden Gala and finished second in run B with a time of 46.90 seconds, behind Stefano Braciola who ran 46.72 seconds.[38] This was a warm-up for his appearance at the 400 metres at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on 15 July 2007.[39] 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.[40][41] Pistorius had ambitions of competing in other able-bodied events. In particular, he had set his sights on competing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China,[42] but was ultimately not selected by the South African Olympic Committee (see below).
[edit]Dispute over prosthetics
Further information: Mechanics of Oscar Pistorius' running blades


Pistorius in his prosthetics at an International Paralympic Day event in Trafalgar Square, London, on 8 September 2011


The South African newspaper The Citizen announcing the IAAF's decision to bar Pistorius from its competitions – photographed in Johannesburg on 16 January 2008
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 prosthetics called the "Flex-Foot Cheetah" developed by biomedical engineer Van Phillips and manufactured by Össur.[22]
On 26 March 2007, the IAAF 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".[43] It claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius. To decide whether or not 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,[28][44] at which he placed last.[41]
In November 2007, Pistorius was invited to take part in a series of scientific tests at the Cologne Sports University under the guidance of Professor of Biomechanics Dr Peter Brüggemann in conjunction with Mr Elio Locatelli, who was responsible with the IAAF of all technical issues. 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 to run at the same speed, and that they led to less vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body.[45] In December, Brüggemann told Die Welt 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."[46] 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 Olympics.[47] Pistorius called the decision "premature and highly subjective" and pledged to continue fighting for his dream. His manager Peet van Zyl said his appeal would be based on advice from United States experts who had said that the report "did not take enough variables into consideration".[48]
Pistorius subsequently appealed against the adverse decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and appeared before the tribunal at the end of April 2008.[49] After a two-day hearing, on 16 May 2008 the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Pistorius's appeal and the IAAF council decision was revoked with immediate effect. The CAS panel unanimously determined that Dr. 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 suffers at the start and acceleration phases of the race; and that overall there was no evidence that he had any net advantage over able-bodied athletes.[50] 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 able-bodied athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify for the Olympics."[51]
[edit]Attempts to qualify for 2008 Summer Olympics
To have a chance of representing South Africa at the 2008 Summer Olympics 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 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.[52] However, he was eligible for selection as a member of the relay squad without qualifying.[53] 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.[54]
On 2 July 2008, Pistorius competed in the 400 metres in the B race of the Notturna International in Milan but was "disappointed"[54][55] when he failed to achieve the minimum Olympic qualification time, completing the race in fourth place in 47.78 seconds.[54][56] 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 short of the Olympic qualification time. Nonetheless, he was pleased with his performance, commenting that he felt he could improve on it.[57]
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.[58] Pistorius branded this as the IAAF's "last desperate attempt" to get him not to qualify,[59] and threatened legal action if the Federation did not confirm that it had no objections to his participation in the relay.[60] 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 4x400m relay team for the Beijing Olympics."[61][62]
Coming third with a personal best time of 46.25 seconds at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne on 16 July 2008, Pistorius failed to qualify for the 400 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics 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.[61][63] Had Pistorius been selected, he would have been one of the first[64] competitors with a leg amputation to participate in the Olympic Games. Pistorius's compatriot Natalie du Toit, a swimmer whose left leg was amputated above the knee after a traffic accident, duly became the first athlete with an amputation to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[65] 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 Olympics in London,[55] stating that it was a more realistic target as "[s]printers usually reach their peak between 26 and 29. I will be 25 in London and I'll also have two, three years' preparation."[56]
[edit]2008 Summer Paralympics
Pistorius participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics 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.[66] 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.[67] Four days later, on 13 September, the defending Paralympic champion in the 200 metres sprint[68] won his second gold in the event in a time of 21.67 seconds,[69] setting another Paralympic record.[66] He completed a hat-trick by winning gold in the 400 metres in a world-record time of 47.49 seconds on 16 September,[70] calling it "a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life".[71]
[edit]2011 and qualification for 2012 Summer Olympics


Pistorius during the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea
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 American Jerome Singleton.[72] 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.[73]
Pistorius competed across a number of able-bodied 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.[9] Pistorius won the 400 metres event with a posted time that ranked him as 15th fastest in the world.[74]
On 8 August 2011 it was announced that he had been included in the South African team for the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and had been selected for the 400 metres and the 4 × 400 metre relay squad. In the heats of the 400 metres, Pistorius ran in 45.39 seconds and qualified for the semifinal. However, in the semifinal, he ran 46.19 seconds and was eliminated.[75]
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 based on having the slowest split time of 46.20. 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 4×400m team. Was really hard watching, knowing I deserved to be part of it."[76] Pistorius still won the silver medal because he ran in the heats, becoming the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal.[77][78] 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 semifinals. 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."[79]
On 4 July 2012, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) announced that Pistorius had been included in the Olympic team[80] for the 400 metres and the 4 × 400 metres relay races.[81][82]
[edit]2012 Summer Olympics


Pistorius running in the Olympic Stadium during the heats of the 400 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics on 4 August
At the 2012 Summer Olympics on 4 August 2012, Pistorius became the first amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games.[83] In the 400 metres race, he took second place in the first heat of five runners, finishing with a time of 45.44 seconds (his best time of the season so far) to advance to the semifinals on 5 August.[84] He ran in the second semifinal, where he finished eighth and last with a time of 46.54 seconds.[85][86]
In the first semifinal of the 4 × 400 metres relay race on 9 August, the second runner of the South African team, Ofentse Mogawane, fell and was injured before reaching Pistorius, who was to have run the third leg. South Africa was passed into the final on appeal to the IAAF, due to interference by Vincent Kiilu, the Kenyan athlete who downed Mogawane.[87][88] 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,[89] with Pistorius running the final leg in 45.9 seconds.[90] Pistorius was chosen to carry the South African flag for the closing ceremony.[91]
[edit]2012 Summer Paralympics
Pistorius also carried the flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics on 29 August.[92] He entered the men's 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres races in the T44 classification, and the T42–T46 4 × 100 metres relay.[93]


Pistorius carrying the flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics
In the 200 metres competition Pistorius established a new world record of 21.30 seconds in his heat on 1 September,[8] but he was defeated in the final the next day by Alan Oliveira of Brazil. Pistorius took silver, and then created a controversy by complaining about the length of Oliveria's blades. He later apologised for the timing of his remarks, but not the content of his complaint.[94] 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 and declared their full support for him and promised to assist him in discussions with the IPC about the issue of lengthened prosthetics after the conclusion of the Games. The IPC expressed willingness to engage with Pistorius about the issue.[95] Australian runner Jack Swift,[2] USA runner Jerome Singleton,[96] and other athletes[97] also expressed support for Pistorius's position.
Pistorius won a gold medal on 5 September running the anchor leg as part of the South African 4 × 100 metres relay team. The team set a world record time of 41.78 seconds.[98] He was unsuccessful in defending his Beijing Olympics 100 metres title when he came fourth with a season's best time of 11.17 seconds, and the race was won by Great Britain's Jonnie Peacock.[99] 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.[100]
[edit]Achievements

[edit]Disability sports events
Time (s) Results Date Event
100 m (class T44)
10.91[7]
(world record) Gold 4 April 2007 Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled
Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa
11.16[101] Bronze 17–28 September 2004 2004 Summer Paralympics
Athens, Greece
11.17[67] Gold 9 September 2008 2008 Summer Paralympics
Beijing, People's Republic of China
11.23[32] Gold 15 May 2005 2005 Visa Paralympic World Cup
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
11.32[102] Gold 5 September 2006 IPC World Championships
Assen, Netherlands
11.34[103] Silver 26 January 2011 IPC World Championships
Christchurch, New Zealand
11.42[4] Gold 6 June 2008 Sportfest
Duisburg, Germany
11.48[104] Gold 1 June 2008 Dutch Open National Championships
Emmeloord, Netherlands
11.62[102] Gold 2004 USA
200 m (class T44)
21.52[105]
(21.30 in semifinal – world record)[8] Silver 2 September 2012 2012 Summer Paralympics
London, England, United Kingdom
21.58[36]
(world record) Gold 5 April 2007 Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled
Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa
21.67[69]
(Paralympic record)[66] Gold 13 September 2008 2008 Summer Paralympics
Beijing, People's Republic of China
21.77[5] Gold 15 June 2008 German Open National Championships
Berlin, Germany
21.80
(21.66 in semifinal – world record)[102] Gold 8 September 2006 IPC World Championships
Assen, Netherlands
21.80[103] Gold 24 January 2011 IPC World Championships
Christchurch, New Zealand
21.97[101] Gold 17–28 September 2004 2004 Summer Paralympics
Athens, Greece
22.01[33]
(world record) Gold 15 May 2005 2005 Visa Paralympic World Cup
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
22.04[106] Gold 31 May 2008 Dutch Open National Championships
Emmeloord, Netherlands
22.71[102] Gold 2004 USA
400 m (class T44)
46.68[100]
(Paralympic record) Gold 8 September 2012 2012 Summer Paralympics
London, England, United Kingdom
47.49[70]
(world record) Gold 16 September 2008 2008 Summer Paralympics
Beijing, People's Republic of China
47.92[104] Gold 1 June 2008 Dutch Open National Championships
Emmeloord, Netherlands
48.37[103] Gold 29 January 2011 IPC World Championships
Christchurch, New Zealand
49.42[102] Gold 4 September 2006 IPC World Championships
Assen, Netherlands
4 × 100 m relay (classes T42–T46)
41.78[98]
(world record) Gold 5 September 2012 2012 Summer Paralympics
London, England, United Kingdom
42.80[103] Gold 29 January 2011 IPC World Championships
Christchurch, New Zealand
[edit]Able-bodied sports events
Time (s) Results Date Event
400 m
45.07[102]
(personal best) First place 19 July 2011 Meeting Internazionale di Atletica Sports Solidarity
Lignano, Italy
45.44[84]
(seasonal best) 16th in Round 1
(out of 51 athletes) 4 August 2012 2012 London Olympics
London, United Kingdom
45.52[107] Silver 29 June 2012 2012 African Championships in Athletics
Porto-Novo, Benin
46.56[108] Silver 17 March 2007 2007 Senior South African National Championships
Durban, South Africa
4 × 400 m relay
2 min 59.21 s (heats)[77] Silver 1 September 2011 2011 World Championships in Athletics
Daegu, South Korea
3 min 04.01 s[109] Silver 1 July 2012 2012 African Championships in Athletics
Porto-Novo, Benin
[edit]Other awards and accolades


Greeting fans after a race in the Second Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Warsaw, 20 September 2011
In 2006, Pistorius was conferred the Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze (OIB) by the President of South Africa for outstanding achievement in sports.[1][26] 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.[110]
In May 2008, Pistorius made the "Time 100" – Time 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, 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' 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."[111] In 2012 he made the list again.[112]
In February 2012 Pistorius was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for 2012.[113] On 22 August 2012, he was honoured with the unveiling of a large mural depicting his achievements in the town of Gemona, Italy.[114]
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.[115] The award went to two other athletes.[116]
After the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow announced they would confer on Pistorius, among others, an honorary doctorate. Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: "Each of our honorary graduands has excelled in their chosen field, and each has touched the lives of many others around the world. As a leading international technological university committed to excellence, it is fitting that we recognise their inspiring achievements and we look forward to welcoming them to the university in November."[117]
[edit]Sponsorship and charitable activities

Pistorius has sponsorship deals worth US$2 million a year with Össur,[118] BT, Nike, Oakley and Thierry Mugler.[119] In 2011, Pistorius participated as a model in an advertising campaign for a Thierry Mugler fragrance called A*Men.[120]
In 2008, Pistorius collaborated in the release of a music CD called Olympic Dream. Produced in Italy, it consists of disco remixes 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.[121] Pistorius also actively supports the Mineseeker Foundation, a charity that works to raise awareness for landmine victims and has a support programme to provide prosthetics for victims.[122]
On 21 February 2013, after previously suspending adverts that featured Pistorius and the line "I am the bullet in the chamber", sportswear manufacturer Nike suspended its contract with Pistorius: "We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."[123][124]
[edit]Personal life

Pistorius has two 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.[14] The other tattoo, which is on his back, is the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 9:26 which begins, "I do not run like a man running aimlessly."[125] He owns a house in South Africa but trains for the European season in Gemona del Friuli, Italy,[126] and is a supporter of Italian Serie A football club Lazio.[17] His other interests include architecture,[127] motorbiking, and breeding race horses.[128]
Pistorius's autobiography, Dream Runner, was published in Italian in 2008 with Gianni Merlo, a journalist with La Gazzetta dello Sport.[129] An English version entitled Blade Runner was released in 2009.[130] In 2010, Pistorius appeared on L'isola dei famosi, an Italian version of Celebrity Survivor.[131] On 7 January 2012, he appeared as a special guest on the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars called Ballando con le Stelle at Auditorium Rai in Rome, where he danced a tango with Annalisa Longo to ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All".[132] On 9 October 2012, Pistorius appeared on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[133] He was also scheduled to appear on Piers Morgan Tonight and the Larry King Now show at later dates.[134]
In February 2009, Pistorius was seriously injured when he was thrown from a boat in an accident on the Vaal River near Johannesburg. He was airlifted to Milpark Hospital where he underwent surgery to repair broken facial bones including his nose and jaw.[135] There were initial concerns about his fitness, but he recovered fully. However, the accident affected his training and running schedule for that year.[136]
Pistorius was scheduled as an amateur golfer in the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship held at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Scotland. Pistorius has a 21 handicap in South Africa, but played off an 18 handicap for the Championship.[137] In 2010 he played in the Laureus World Sports Awards Golf Challenge at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates[138] and the Help-net Fund Celebrity Charity Golf Day.[139]
[edit]Legal problems

[edit]Arrest in 2009
In 2009 Pistorius was arrested by South African police after allegedly slamming a door on a woman at his home. He was held overnight but was not charged and the case was dropped soon after his arrest.[140][141]
[edit]Murder charge

It has been suggested that portions of this article be moved into Death of Reeva Steenkamp. (Discuss)
In the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013, Pistorius' girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed at Pistorius' Pretoria home.[142][143][144] Pistorius was taken into police custody and was formally charged with Steenkamp's murder in a Pretoria court on 15 February.[145][146][147]
The bail hearing commenced on 19 February under Chief Magistrate of Pretoria Desmond Nair.[148] During the hearing, both prosecution and defence said that Pistorius had fired four shots through a locked bathroom door, hitting Steenkamp three times inside the bathroom.[149][150] Prosecutor Gerrie Nel claimed that Pistorius had put on his prosthetic legs, walked across his bedroom to the bathroom, and intentionally shot Steenkamp through the door.[149][151] Nel argued that the time required for this process was sufficient to establish the murder as "premeditated."[152] Pistorius said that he had thought Steenkamp was in the bed, and that the person in the bathroom was an intruder. He also said he had not put on his prosthetics before shooting into the bathroom.[149]
Chief investigating officer Hilton Botha said at the bail hearing that a witness had heard sounds of fighting from Pistorius' home before shots were fired; he initially said the witness was 600 metres away, but later said the distance was 300 metres.[153] Botha also said the trajectory of the gunshots indicated that they had been fired downward and directly toward the toilet.[153] He acknowledged that procedural mistakes had been made during the crime scene investigation, and that police had found no evidence that directly contradicted the version of events offered by either the defense or the prosecution.[153][154] On 22 February, Botha was removed from the case following revelations that he was facing attempted murder charges stemming from a 2009 incident.[155] Botha was replaced by Vineshkumar Moonoo, described as "the most senior detective" in the South African Police Service.[155]
On 22 February, at the conclusion of the four-day bail hearing, Magistrate Nair confirmed that Pistorius would be charged with premeditated murder, but said that the state had not convinced him that Pistorius posed a flight risk, and fixed bail at 1 million rand ($113,000).[156] Pistorius' next court appearance is scheduled for 4 June 2013.[156]
[edit]Media coverage
Time published a cover story Pistorius And South Africa's Culture Of Violence in the 11 March 2013 issue of the magazine, with an image of Pistorius on the cove