Photo: Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp in happier times (AP)
Oscar Pistorius is now behind bars having been handed down a five year sentence on Tuesday for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year. The sentence was handed down by the High Court judge Thokozile Masipa, bringing an end to what was a long and anxiously awaited 49 days trial.
Pistorius acknowledged that he shot Steenkamp, but said that he mistook her for an intruder at the time. He was taken into police custody and was formally charged with murder in a Pretoria court on 15 February 2013. The ‘Blade Runner’ was also given a three year sentence, suspended for five years, for a firearms offence.
Pistorius competed for South Africa at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2013 World Championships after being granted permission by the relevant authorities to compete with able bodied athletes despite being a Paralympic athlete as well. He has won more than 15 international paralmpic medals, including 8 gold medals, competing in T44 category in events ranging from the 100m to 400m
However after Tuesday’s sentencing the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has ruled that Oscar Pistorius will not be allowed to return to competition until 2019.
An IPC spokesman confirmed that Pistorius, the first athlete to compete in both the Olympics and Paralympics in London in 2012, would be banned from the Rio Games even if he is released on licence by that point.
The athlete’s counsel said following sentencing that he could serve as little as 10 months in prison before completing the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
But the IPC said that under its rules he would be banned from competition for the full five years unless he appealed and his sentence was formally reduced.
“The rules state that if someone is given a five-year sentence by a court, they must serve that sentence before returning to competition,” an IPC spokesman told the Guardian.
The 27-year-old South African will be 33 by the time of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 but it is debatable whether he will be in any shape to compete by then.
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