Oscar Pistorius unlikely to run for South Africa again, says sports minister
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Version 0 of 1. Oscar Pistorius has reached “the end of the road” after his trial and imprisonment, and is unlikely to run for his country again, the South African government has said. The Paralympian, convicted of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, began a five-year jail sentence on Tuesday. He is expected to be granted an early release, possibly after 10 months, but Fikile Mbalula, the South African sports minister, said he believes Pistorius’s track career is over. “I do not think Oscar will be able to come back in terms of athletics,” Mbalula told the Cape Argus newspaper. “For me, [Pistorius’s conviction and sentence] was the end of the road of his journey. It is unfortunate that it had to end in this manner, but the courts have spoken and we will respect their decision.” When Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide last month, the South African Olympic committee indicated he would be free to compete again once out of jail because its regulations do not bar anyone with a criminal record. But this week the International Paralympic Committee 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. Mbalula said the “Blade Runner’s” sentencing “has been a very sad moment for us in sport, in the sense that he was the epitome of wisdom, skill and triumph over adversity. Doors were beginning to open for us globally because of this young man. The last national anthem played at the London Paralympics was that of South Africa because Oscar took the podium after winning the event’s final race. In the world of athletics, Oscar was number two, second only to Usain Bolt, in terms of popularity.” The high court in Pretoria heard how Pistorius’s star was ascendent at the time of the shooting, with sponsorship and endorsement deals likely to increase five-fold after he became the first amputee to compete on an Olympic track. All have since been terminated. Instead the sprinter was incarcerated at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria on Tuesday. He had a medical exam before being locked in his cell in the hospital wing, joining eight other prisoners with disabilities under routine 24-hour observation, with two nurses on duty. The correctional services department declined to comment on a media report that Pistorius cried himself to sleep on his first night behind bars. South Africa’s Times newspaper quoted an unnamed source saying: “You could hear him. Shortly after the door closed you could hear the tears … he was torn up. Broken. The crying went on and on. We think he stopped when he fell asleep. It was really bad.” The court accepted Pistorius’s testimony that he mistook Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate and model, for a burglar when he shot four times through a locked toilet door. His family have said the athlete will not appeal against his sentence. Steenkamp’s mother, June, told Hello! magazine: “We’re not looking for vengeance or for him to get hurt; we’re just happy because he’s going to be punished for what he’s done.” |