-
Birth date
Oscar from South Africa was born without his fibula- a bone that stretches along side the lower leg, between the knee joint and the ankle- in each of his legs. His parents, Henk and Sheila, made a tough decision to amputate his legs when he was just 11 months old. -
Period: to
The history of Oscar Pistorius' life
-
Primary school years
Between the ages of 11 and 13, he played rugby union in the school's third team, water polo and tennis. He also played water polo and tennis at provincial level. In addition, Pistorius took part in club Olympic wrestling and trained at Jannie Brooks's garage gym in Pretoria, South Africa. -
Shattered knee
Oscar shattered his knee playing rugby for Pretoria Boys High School and was worried that his sporting career was over at the age of 16. On the advice of a docter, Oscar took up track running to aid his rehab and began training under the guidance of coach Ampie Louw at the Sports Science Institute at the University of Pretoria. -
Breaking a record
After a few months in the gym Oscar had his first training session.
Three weeks later he entered a school 100m race and won in a time of 11.72 seconds. After the race his father looked up how Oscar's time compared to the best in the world and Henk discovered that his 17-year-old son's time was faster than the Paralympic world record of 12.20s. -
First gold
Eight months after first stepping onto the track, the South African created a buzz in the athletics world by winning the T44 200m gold medal at the Athens Paralympics, breaking the world record with a time of 21.97s. He also returned home with a bronze medal in the 100m. -
Olympic challange
Stunned by his achievements at the Paralympic Games, Oscar set his mind on competing against able-bodied athletes and at the South African Championships, he finished sixth in the 400m final. -
Golden Gala
It was at the IAAF Golden Gala event in Rome that Pistorius first competed internationally against able-bodied athletes. In the race he was competing in, he finished second across 400m with a time of 46.90s. -
IAAF meeting
Oscar was invited to take part in a series of scientific tests at the Cologne Sports University guided by Professor of Biomechanics Dr Peter Brüggemann who was responsible with the IAAF of all technical issues.After two days of tests Brüggemann reported on his findings on behalf of the IAAF. The report claimed that Pistorius was able to run at the same speed as able-bodied athletes while using less energy and that his prosthetic limbs gave him an advantage over able-bodied athletes. -
Arguing
Pistorius strongly challenged the report arguing that the tests were scientifically flawed. Following an IAAF vote, Pistorius was banned from all able-bodied athletics competitions. Pistorius employed the services of a law firm to challenge the ruling throughout an appeal and travelled to America to take part in a series of further tests carried out at Rice University in Houston by a team of scientists. -
CAS
After a two day hearing, the Court of Arbitration for Sport concidered Oscar's appeal and the IAAF council's decision was made- Oscar had no advantage over able-bodied athletes. Pistorius' ability to train daily for Beijing had been ruined by the scientific testing and court proceedings and still he finished third at the meeting in Lucerne with a personal best time of 46.25s - 0.70 seconds outside the Olympic qualifying time. -
Beijing
Pistorius concentrated on the Paralympics in Beijing and became the first athlete in history to win gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m events in his disability category, the new Paralympic record of 47.49s. -
Boat accident
Oscar suffered serious head and facial injuries in a boat accident on the Vaal River in Johannesburg. He was airlifted to hospital and was in intensive care for five days. The accident changed his lifestyle and strengthened his focus. He recovered from his injuries and turned his attention to continuing to break Paralympic records and working to achieve the required time for Olympic qualification. -
Number 1 Rival
A slimmer Pistorius won three IPC Athletics World titles in New Zealand but was beaten for the first time in seven years in the 100m by American Jerome Singleton. -
Oscar, the winner
Oscar then won the 400m in 47.28s and the 100m in 11.04s at the BT Paralympic World Cup in May regaining his title as the world's leading Paralympic sprinter. -
Personal best
Oscar competed against a number of able-bodied races in summer and posted three times under 46 seconds but it was in Lignano, Italy, that Oscar set a personal best of 45.07s in the 400m, attending the World Championships and Olympic Games 'A' standard qualification mark. -
Paralympics
Oscar will be looking to represent South Africa in the Paralympic Games to defend his 100m, 200m and 400m titles. -
NBC news video
