Oscar Pistorius - Biography

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (born November 22, 1986) is a South African sprint runner. 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).
In
2007, Pistorius took part in his first international competitions for able-bodied athletes.

However, his cutting-edge prostheses gave rise to claims that he had an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners. The International Association of Athletics Federations initially ruled him ineligible for competitions conducted under its rules, but on May 16, 2008, the Court ruling that, since he was slower out of the blocks than an able-bodied athlete there was insufficient evidence that Pistorius had an overall net advantage over able-bodied athletes.

At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics Championships 2011 World Championships, he participated in the 400 metres sprint and the 4 × 400 metres relay. As part of South Africa's silver medal winning relay team, he became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal although he was not selected for the final. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Pistorius became the first double leg amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men's 400 metres race and was part of South Africa's 4 × 400 metres relay team. He also took part in the 2012 Summer Paralympics.

He won gold medals in the men's 400 metre race in a Paralympic record time of 46.68 seconds and in the 4 × 100 metres relay in a world record time of 41.78 seconds. He also took a silver in the 200 metres race, having set a world record of 21.30 seconds in the semifinal.
On February 14, 2013, Pistorius was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was fatally shot at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of that morning.