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The rise and fall of Oscar Pistorius

Sport360 staff 16:10 06/07/2016
Oscar Pistorius' fall from grace has been unlike no other.

The much publicised trial of Oscar Pistorius ended on Wednesday with the South African athlete sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.

The 29 year-old’s fall from grace has been one of the most disturbing in recent sporting history.

Here, we take a look at Pistorius’ time in the spotlight, from his Paralympics bow in 2004 to his murder conviction.

2004 – PARALYMPICS BOW

Pistorius placed third in the 100 metres event at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. He won the 200 metres final in a world record time of 21.97 seconds.

2007 – BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

He was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2007 for his inspirational feats as an amputee athlete.

2008 – APPEAL AGAINST IAAF DECISION

In 2008, he won an appeal against the IAAF’s decision to prevent him from competing against able-bodied athletes.

2008 – RECORD BREAKER

Pistorius set a Paralympic record with his time of 11.16 seconds in the 100 metre heats before winning gold. He then took first place again in the 200m event, setting another Paralympic record with a time of 21.67 seconds.

When he won gold in the 400m, again setting a world-record time of 47.49 seconds, he completed a historic hat-trick.

2012 – OLYMPICS HISTORY

Pistorius became the first amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games. He placed second in the first heat of five runners in the 200m race to advance to the semi-finals where he finished last.

The South African relay team eventually finished eighth out of the field of nine in the final while Pistorius was chosen to carry the South African flag for the closing ceremony.

2012 – PARALYMPICS LAMENT

In the 200m event, Pistorius set a new T43 world record of 21.30 seconds in his heat. He ended up taking silver in the race, lamenting the length of winner Alan Oliveira’s blades.

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 – ARRESTED

Pistorius was arrested at his home in Pretoria after shooting ad killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

FEBRUARY 15, 2013 – CASE OPENED

Pretoria Magistrate’s Court opened a case of premeditated murder against Pistorius who admitted to shooting Steenkamp but claimed he mistook her for an intruder and acted out of fear.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 – GUILTY OF CULPABLE HOMICIDE 

He was found guilty of culpable homicide but not of murder and was granted bail until his sentencing.

OCTOBER 21, 2013 – SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS

Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for killing his Steenkamp. He was also handed a three-year suspended sentence for a separate firearms charge. He began his sentence at Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru prison.

DECEMBER 3, 2015 – CONVICTION CHANGED TO MURDER

The Supreme Court of Appeal replaced Pistorius’ culpable homicide conviction with murder, claiming that he should’ve foreseen the deadly impact of his four bullets.

JULY 6, 2016 – SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS FOR MURDER

Pistorius is given six years in prison for Reeva Steenkamp’s murder.

The ruling came as a shock as it is much less than the prescribed minimum for murder. South Africans took to social media to express their displeasure.

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