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Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius82 posts

Oscar Pistorius is a South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete born in Johannesburg in 1986. He is the first amputee to win a World Championships in Athletics medal and the first double-leg amputee to compete in both the Paralympics and Olympics. He holds Paralympic gold medals in the 100, 200, and 400-meter sprints and 100-meter relay, and has competed in the Olympic 400-meter sprint and 400-meter relay. On Oct. 21, 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

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6 Mar, 2002

Mother dies

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oscar-pistorius-motherSheila Pistorius passes away. Pistorius says that sport is the only thing that helps him get through the experience. His aunt:

Sheila valued each of her children for their individual talents and was proud of them. Strict, loving, spontaneous and always game for fun, she was also a devout Christian who brought her children up to observe the Christian way of life, something she tried to demonstrate in her own relationships. She was open about Oscar’s disability and shared her experience in bringing Oscar up in order to encourage other parents of disabled children. Oscar has continued her legacy of helping others.

Jun 2003

Knee injury

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Pistorius shatters his knee while playing rugby for Pretoria Boys High School third XV. Fearing that his sporting career is over, he takes up track running as rehabilitation on the advice of his orthopedic surgeon, Dr Gerry Versveld, training under coach Ampie Louw at the Sports Science Institute at the University of Pretoria.

Jun 2004

Ossur blades

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flex foot cheetahPistorius receives his first pair of Ossur-manufactured Flex-Foot Cheetah running blades for track competition, fitted by his prostheticist, Francois van der Watt. This leads to his nickname, the Blade Runner.

26 Mar, 2007

Athletics federation rule

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The IAAF passes rule 144.2. Clause (e) prohibits:

Use of any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device.

2007

Olympic qualification threatened

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oscar-pistorius-threatenedThe IAAF assesses whether Pistorius will be able to compete in the Olympics under its new rule. It is concerned about the energy his blades release, the length of stride pattern they allow and the fact they do not release lactic acid. Pistorius:

I have a dream of competing at the Olympic Games in Beijing next year

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies says the blades give him a three-to-four meter stride:

[That is] not humanly possible.

As part of its assessment it films Pistorius competing against able-bodied runners at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix in Sheffield and the Golden Gala race in Rome the previous Friday. Davies:

We will be filming Oscar in race situations, then measuring things like his stride length, how he distributes his speed and his energy over the whole lap.

14 Jul, 2007

Rome race

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Pistorius finishes second against able-bodied athletes in the Golden Gala 400-meter event, coming from last place on the turn to achieve a time of 46.90 seconds. The race is part of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) assessment as to whether Pistorius’s blades give him an unfair advantage.

If the IAAF decide to ban me, it will be something I’ll just have to deal with. But it would be nice to feel that they were working with me, not against me.

26 Jul, 2007

IAAF tests Pistorius

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The federation announces that it will conduct a full biomechanical analysis of Pistorius to see whether his blades give him an advantage.

Amongst other things, the scientists would like to measure his energy consumption with 400m loads and compare that with data of able-bodied athletes of the same speed. Secondly, they would like to measure Oscar’s running mechanics and compare that with an able bodied runner using force plates, 3D-kinematics etc.

14 Jan, 2008

Olympic ban

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oscar-pistorius-banned-iaafThe IAAF bans Pistorius from competing at the Summer games in Beijing. Among other findings, it determines that his blades allow him to use 25% less energy than an able-bodied athlete. (Full findings here). Pistorius says he will appeal:

I feel that it is my responsibility, on behalf of other disabled athletes, to stand firm. I will appeal [against] this decision at the highest levels, while also continuing with my quest to race in the Paralympic Games and hopefully the Olympic Games.

2008

Appeals ban

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Pistorius appeals to the Court of Arbitrations for Sport and is represented by the law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. Statement:

I am very appreciative of the Court of Arbitration for Sport setting a schedule that will allow a decision in time for me to pursue my goal of qualifying for the Olympics. This case is important not just to me, but to all disabled persons who just ask for the chance to compete fairly on the sporting field with able-bodied athletes.

16 May, 2008

Ban overturned

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport rules that Pistorius can compete. Pistorius:

I am ecstatic. When I found out, I cried. It is a battle that has been going on for far too long. It’s a great day for sport. I think this day is going to go down in history for the equality of disabled people.

18 Jul, 2008

Fails to qualify for Beijing

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Oscar-Pistorius-fails-qualifyFour other relay athletes post better times and are selected for Team South Africa. Pistorius’s time of 46.25 seconds is outside the 45.55 Olympic qualification standard. He says the legal battle with the IAAF kept him from training:

I have to be realistic. I haven’t run in about a year. London 2012 is a more realistic target. Sprinters usually reach their peak between 26 and 29. I will be 25 in London and I’ll also have two, three years’ preparation.

9 Sep, 2008

Beijing 100m gold medal run

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Pistorius takes gold in the event with a time of 11.17. He also aims to win gold in the 200- and 400-meter events:

I wouldn’t say the rest was easy, but it was just great to be out here, take in the crowd and get the gold medal.”

Oscar Pistorius - 100m T44 Final - Beijing Paralympics

13 Sep, 2008

Beijing 200m gold medal run

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Pistorius wins the Paralympic event in 21.67 seconds, nearly a second ahead of silver winner Jim Bob Bizzell of the U.S.A. Pistorius:

This race is definitely going down as one of my best ever races. I’ve never run in front of a crowd this big and just the crowd, the athletes, it was an awesome race and I couldn’t have hoped for anything better

Men's 200m T44 - Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games

Beats own world record

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Pistorius’s time of 47.49 seconds in the 400 meters beats his own world record by more than two seconds. Pistorius:

I’m delighted to break the world record. I have a lot of pressure on this competition

22 Feb, 2009

Speedboat crash

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Pistorius is airlifted from the Vaal River after crashing his speedboat, and taken to the Millpark hospital, where he is placed on a ventilator before undergoing surgery. Millpark principal medical officer:

He is fine. Everything can be repaired ­surgically. His brain is functioning normally. He will soon be discharged and taken home to make a full recovery.

His family expect him to recover in time for the European athletics season.

11 Apr, 2009

Interview about returning to training

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Pistorius says he has returned to training, and gives some details about the crash:

Training had been going well so I suggested to a mate that we take a boat out on the Vaal river and relax a bit. It is a narrow river and a lot of the jetties are old and don’t have flotation devices so when the water level is high, as it was that day, they are submerged. We weren’t going too quickly, probably no more than 30 kph (18mph) but we hit a pier that was under the water and I was thrown hard onto the steering wheel.

He talks about his injuries:

I lost a lot of blood and it was pretty scary. My nose sort of peeled open, my orbital socket disintegrated and my nasal cavity broke from my nose to the top of my jaw… I’ve still got a bit of pain in my face. I’ve got a piece of plastic under my eye and the doctors say the swelling in my nose will take anything from six to 12 months to go down. I’ve lost about six kilos in the last 12 weeks. That’s a lot of muscle, a lot of physical endurance that I’ll have to build up again. But in my mind there have never been any barriers for me in sport.

13 Sep, 2009

Arrested on assault charge

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Pistorius is arrested for allegedly slamming a door on a woman at a party at his home. His family and friends say it was an accident.

9 Feb, 2011

Files suit in assault case

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Pistorius files a suit for 2.2 million rand ($199,000) against Taylor-Memmory after saying in court papers that she filed a malicious suit against him. The case rests on whether Pistorius intended to harm her when he slammed a door at his home, causing a piece of wood to strike Taylor-Memmory’s leg. Pistorius says the suit led to him spending a night in a holding cell, and losing income from two brand ambassador deals.