Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila Pistorius on 22 November 1986 in Sandton, Johannesburg, in what was then Transvaal Province (now Gauteng Province) of South Africa. He grew up in a Christian home and has an elder brother, Carl, and a younger sister, Aimée. Pistorius credits his mother, who died at the age of 43 when Pistorius was 15 years old, as a major influence in his life. Pistorius is a white South African with Italian ancestry from his maternal great-grandfather, who was an Italian emigrant to Kenya. He is of Afrikaner ethnicity with Afrikaans as a mother tongue and is also fluent in English.

After a serious rugby knee injury in June 2003, he was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing rehabilitation at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre with coach Ampie Louw, and “never looked back”. His first racing blades were fitted by South African prosthetist Francois van der Watt. Because he was unable to find suitable running blades in Pretoria, Van der Watt ordered the pair to be made by a local engineer. However, as these quickly broke, Van der Watt referred Pistorius to American prosthetist and Paralympic sprinter Brian Frasure to be fitted for blades by Icelandic company Össur.

Pistorius competed in T44 (single below-knee amputees) events though he is classified in T43 (double below-knee amputee). Sometimes referred to as the “Blade Runner” and “the fastest man on no legs”, Pistorius took part in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens and came third overall in the T44 100-metre event. Despite falling in the preliminary round for the 200 metres, he qualified for the final. He went on to win the final in a world record time of 21.97 seconds, beating a pair of American runners, Marlon Shirley and Brian Frasure, both with single amputations.

In 2005, Pistorius finished sixth in the non-disabled South African Championships over 400 metres with a world-record time of 47.34 seconds, and at the Paralympic World Cup in the same year, he won gold in the 100 metres and 200 metres, beating his previous 200-metre world record. At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships, Pistorius won gold in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre events, breaking the world record over 200 metres. On 17 March 2007, he set a disability sports world record for the 400 metres (46.56 seconds) at the South African Senior Athletics Championships in Durban; and at the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled held in Johannesburg in April 2007. He became the world record holder of the 100- and 200-metre events with times of 10.91 and 21.58 seconds, respectively.

Pistorius was invited by the IAAF to take part in what would have been his first international non-disabled event, the 400-metre race at the IAAF Grand Prix in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2005. He was unable to attend, however, because of school commitments. On 13 July 2007, Pistorius ran in the 400-metre race at Rome’s Golden Gala and finished second in run B with a time of 46.90 seconds, behind Stefano Braciola who ran 46.72 seconds. This was a warm-up for his appearance at the 400 metres at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on 15 July 2007. As American Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner stumbled at the start of the race and stopped running, Pistorius took seventh place in a field of eight in wet conditions with a time of 47.65 seconds. However, he was later disqualified for running outside his lane. The race was won by American Angelo Taylor with a time of 45.25 seconds. Pistorius had ambitions of competing in other non-disabled events. In particular, he had set his sights on competing at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, but was not selected by the South African Olympic Committee.

Pistorius began studying for a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) in business management with sports science at the University of Pretoria in 2006. In a June 2008 interview for his University’s website, he joked: “I won’t graduate soon. With all the training I have had to cut down on my subjects. Hopefully I’ll finish by the time I’m 30!” Asked by a journalist for his “sporting motto”, he said: “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.”

In 2006, Pistorius was conferred the Order of Ikhamanga in Bronze (OIB) by then President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, for outstanding achievement in sports. On 9 December 2007, Pistorius was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award, which is conferred for outstanding courage and achievement in the face of adversity. This was later revoked following his conviction for murder.

On 26 March 2007, the IAAF amended its competition rules to include a ban on the use of “any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device”. The IAAF stated that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius. To decide whether he was running with an unfair advantage, the IAAF monitored his track performances using high-definition cameras to film his race against Italian club runners in Rome on 13 July, and his 400 metres in Sheffield on 15 July 2007, at which he placed last.

In November 2007, Pistorius was invited to take part in a series of scientific tests at the German Sports University Cologne under the guidance of Professor of Biomechanics Dr Peter Brüggemann in conjunction with Elio Locatelli, who was responsible for all technical issues in the IAAF. After two days of tests, Brüggemann reported on his findings on behalf of the IAAF. The report claimed that Pistorius’s limbs used 25% less energy than runners with complete natural legs running at the same speed, and that they led to less vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body. In December, Brüggemann told Die Welt newspaper that Pistorius “has considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs who were tested by us. It was more than just a few percentage points. I did not expect it to be so clear.” Based on these findings, on 14 January 2008, the IAAF ruled Pistorius’s prostheses ineligible for use in competitions conducted under the IAAF rules, including the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Pistorius called the decision “premature and highly subjective” and pledged to continue fighting for his dream. His manager, Peet van Zylm said his appeal would be based on advice from experts in the United States who had said that the report “did not take enough variables into consideration”.

Pistorius subsequently appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and appeared before the tribunal at the end of April 2008. After a two-day hearing, on 16 May 2008, CAS upheld Pistorius’ appeal and the IAAF council decision was revoked with immediate effect. The CAS panel unanimously determined that Brüggemann tested Pistorius’ biomechanics only at full-speed when he was running in a straight line (unlike a real 400-metre race); that the report did not consider the disadvantages that Pistorius suffers at the start and acceleration phases of the race; and that overall there was no evidence that he had any net advantage over non-disabled athletes. In response to the announcement, Pistorius said: “My focus throughout this appeal has been to ensure that disabled athletes be given the chance to compete and compete fairly with non-disabled athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify for the Olympics.”

On 2 July 2008, Pistorius competed in the 400 metres in the B race of the Notturna International in Milan but was “disappointed” when at 47.78 seconds his fourth place finish was over the minimum Olympic qualifying time. His performance on 11 July 2008 at the Rome Golden Gala was an improvement of more than a second, though his sixth-place time of 46.62 seconds in the B race was still over the Olympic qualification time. Nonetheless, he was pleased with his performance, commenting that he felt he could improve on it.

On 15 July 2008, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss commented that the world athletics body preferred that the South African Olympic Committee not select Pistorius for its 4 × 400 metres relay team “for reasons of safety”, saying that Pistorius could cause “serious damage” and risk the physical safety of himself and other athletes if he ran in the main pack of the relay. Pistorius branded this as the IAAF’s “last desperate attempt” to get him not to qualify, and threatened legal action if the IAAF did not confirm that it had no objections to his participation in the relay. The IAAF responded by issuing a statement saying that Pistorius was welcome to seek qualification for the Olympics and future competitions under IAAF rules: “The IAAF fully respects the recent CAS decision regarding the eligibility of Oscar Pistorius to compete in IAAF competitions, and certainly has no wish to influence the South African Olympic Committee, who has full authority to select a men’s 4 × 400m relay team for the Beijing Olympics.”

Coming third, with a personal best time of 46.25 seconds, at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 16 July 2008, Pistorius failed to qualify for the 400 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games by 0.70 seconds. Athletics South Africa later announced that he would also not be selected for the 4 × 400 metres relay team as four other runners had better times. Pistorius would not have been the debut leg amputee to participate in the Olympic Games as George Eyser had competed earlier. Pistorius’s compatriot Natalie du Toit, a swimmer whose left leg was amputated above the knee after a traffic accident, was the debut amputee Olympian, at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Asked about the possibility of the IAAF offering him a wild card to take part in the Olympics, Pistorius responded: “I do not believe that I would accept. If I have to take part in the Beijing Games I should do it because I qualified.” He expressed a preference for focusing on qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, stating that it was a more realistic target as “sprinters usually reach their peak between 26 and 29. I will be 25 in London and I’ll also have two, three years’ preparation.”

Pistorius participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing in the 100, 200 and 400 metres (T44). On 9 September, in the heats of the 100 metres, he set a Paralympic record with his time of 11.16 seconds. Later, following a slow start, he rallied to snatch gold from the United States’ Jerome Singleton in the 100 metres in a time of 11.17 seconds, 0.03 seconds ahead of the silver medallist. Four days later, on 13 September, the defending Paralympic champion in the 200-metre sprint won his second gold in the event in a time of 21.67 seconds, setting another Paralympic record. He completed a hat-trick by winning gold in the 400 metres in a world-record time of 47.49 seconds on 16 September, calling it “a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life”.

In May 2008, Pistorius made the “Time 100” – Time magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential people – appearing third in the “Heroes & Pioneers” section. Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb Mount Everest, wrote in an essay that Pistorius was “on the cusp of a paradigm shift in which disability becomes ability, disadvantage becomes advantage. Yet we mustn’t lose sight of what makes an athlete great. It’s too easy to credit Pistorius’ success to technology. Through birth or circumstance, some are given certain gifts, but it’s what one does with those gifts, the hours devoted to training, the desire to be the best, that is at the true heart of a champion.” In 2012, he made the list again.

In 2008, Pistorius collaborated in the release of a music CD called Olympic Dream. Produced in Italy, it consists of disco remixes of music pieces that Pistorius finds inspirational, and two tracks written for him, “Olympic Dream” and “Run Boy Run”, for which he provided voiceovers. Part of the CD’s proceeds of sale went to charity. Pistorius also actively supports the Mineseeker Foundation, a charity that works to raise awareness for landmine victims and has a support programme to provide prostheses for victims.

Pistorius’ autobiography, Dream Runner, was published in Italian in 2008 with Gianni Merlo, a journalist with La Gazzetta dello Sport. An English version titled Blade Runner was released in 2009. In 2010, Pistorius appeared on L’isola dei famosi, an Italian version of Celebrity Survivor. On 7 January 2012, he appeared as a special guest on the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars called Ballando con le Stelle at Auditorium Rai in Rome, where he danced a tango with Annalisa Longo to ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All”. On 9 October 2012, Pistorius appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was also scheduled to appear on Piers Morgan Tonight and the Larry King Now show at later dates.

In 2008, comedian Katt Williams referenced Pistorius in a routine, “Poor Little Tink Tink,” in his performance It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’.

In February 2009, Pistorius was seriously injured when he was thrown from a boat in an accident on the Vaal River near Johannesburg. He was airlifted to Milpark Hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair broken facial bones, including his nose and jaw. There were initial concerns about his fitness, but he recovered fully. However, the accident affected his training and running schedule for that year.

In January 2011, a slimmer, trimmer Pistorius won three IPC Athletics World titles in New Zealand but was beaten for the first time in seven years in the 100 metres by Jerome Singleton. He subsequently won the T44 400 metres in 47.28 seconds and the 100 metres in 11.04 seconds at the BT Paralympic World Cup in May to reassert himself as the world’s leading Paralympic sprinter.

On 8 August 2011, it was announced that he had been included in the South African team for the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and had been selected for the 400-metre and the 4 × 400 metre relay squad. In the heats of the 400 metres, Pistorius ran in 45.39 seconds and qualified for the semi-final. However, in the semi-final, he ran 46.19 seconds and was eliminated.

On 4 July 2012, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) announced that Pistorius had been included in the Olympic team for the 400-metre and the 4 × 400 metres relay races.

At the 2012 Summer Olympic Games on 4 August 2012, Pistorius became the debut amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games. In the 400-metre race, he took second place in the first heat of five runners, finishing with a time of 45.44 seconds (his best time that season) to advance to the semi-finals on 5 August. He ran in the second semi-final, where he finished eighth and last with a time of 46.54 seconds.

In February 2012, Pistorius was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for 2012. On 22 August 2012, he was honoured with the unveiling of a large mural depicting his achievements in the town of Gemona, Italy.

On 9 September 2012, Pistorius was shortlisted by the IPC for the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award as a competitor “who is fair, honest and is uncompromising in his or her values and prioritises the promotion of the Paralympic Movement above personal recognition”. According to director Craig Spence, he was nominated by an unnamed external organisation from South Korea. The award went to two other athletes.

After the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow announced they would confer on Pistorius, among others, an honorary doctorate. In February 2015, following his conviction for culpable homicide, the University revoked the honorary degree.

In 2012 Pistorius had sponsorship deals worth US$2 million a year with Össur, BT, Nike, Oakley and Thierry Mugler. He also participated as a model in advertising campaigns.

Pistorius was scheduled as an amateur golfer in the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship held at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Scotland. Pistorius has a 21 handicap in South Africa, but played off an 18 handicap for the Championship. In 2010, he played in the Laureus World Sports Awards Golf Challenge at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and the Help-net Fund Celebrity Charity Golf Day.

Pistorius has two visible tattoos: the dates of his mother’s birth and death (“LVIII V VIII – II III VI” – 8 May 1958 – 6 March 2002) are tattooed on the inside of his right arm; the other tattoo, which is on his back, is the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 9:26–27 which begins, “I do not run like a man running aimlessly.” He lived in Silverwoods Country Estate, Pretoria. The house was sold in June 2014. Aside from running, his interests include architecture, motorbiking, and breeding race horses.

Pistorius’ trial for murder began on 3 March 2014, in the Pretoria High Court. On 20 May 2014, the trial proceedings were adjourned until 30 June to enable Pistorius to undergo psychiatric evaluation to establish whether he could be held criminally responsible for shooting Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa agreed to a request for the evaluation by prosecutor Gerrie Nel after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster testified for the defense that she had diagnosed Pistorius with generalized anxiety disorder. On 30 June 2014, the trial resumed after the evaluation reports said Pistorius could be held criminally responsible. The state prosecutor was quoted as saying, “Mr. Pistorius did not suffer from a mental illness or defect that would have rendered him not criminally responsible for the offence charged”. The defense closed its case on 8 July and closing arguments were heard on 7 and 8 August.

On 12 September, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide and one firearm-related charge of reckless endangerment related to discharging a firearm in a restaurant. He was found not guilty of two other firearm-related charges relating to possession of illegal ammunition and firing a firearm through the sunroof of a car. On 21 October 2014, he received a prison sentence of a maximum of five years for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for the separate reckless endangerment conviction.

On 4 November 2014, prosecutors applied to the sentencing judge for permission to appeal the culpable homicide verdict, stating that the five-year prison term was “shockingly light, inappropriate and would not have been imposed by any reasonable court”. Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled on 10 December 2014 that the prosecution could challenge her ruling of acquitting Pistorius of premeditated murder and convicting him of the lesser charge of culpable homicide; however she ruled that the state could not appeal the length of the sentence. The case was then set for appeal in front of a five-person panel at the Supreme Court of Appeal.

In 2014, comedian Jim Jeffries did a comedy routine in his Netflix special titled “Bare,” in which he mocked Pistorius’ shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

In June 2015, Pistorius was recommended for early release, as early as August. South African Commissioner of Correctional Services Zach Modise told the BBC of the decision by the case management committee at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, where Pistorius was being held: “Under South African law he is eligible for release under ‘correctional supervision’ having served a sixth of his sentence.”

After Pistorius served approximately one-sixth of his prison term, his release date to house arrest was announced for 21 August 2015. This release was based on good behaviour and the fact that he was not considered a danger to the community. Pistorius was expected to remain under house arrest and correctional supervision, and was expected to perform community service as part of his continuing sentence. Regardless of his release from prison, Pistorius could not return to official athletic competition until the whole five years of his sentence was complete. On 19 August 2015, his release was unexpectedly blocked by South Africa’s Justice Minister Michael Masutha. According to Masutha, the parole board’s decision for early release was “premature.” Legal experts noted that the move could have been due to political pressure and had implications for other cases of pending early release. He was released from prison on 19 October 2015.

The appeal was heard on 3 November 2015, in the Supreme Court of Appeal, Bloemfontein. The matter was heard before five Supreme Court judges. By a unanimous decision, the court overturned Pistorius’ culpable homicide conviction and found him guilty of murder in the death of Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Eric Leach read the summary of judgment. The panel of five judges found for the prosecutor’s argument that Pistorius must have known that someone would die if he fired through the closed door into a small toilet cubicle. In the words of Judge Leach, “Although he may have been anxious, it is inconceivable that a rational person could have believed he was entitled to fire at this person with a heavy-calibre firearm, without taking even that most elementary precaution of firing a warning shot, which the accused said he elected not to fire as he thought the ricochet might harm him.”

On 8 December 2015, it was announced Pistorius would continue to remain free on bail but under house arrest pending his appeal to the Constitutional Court. On 3 March 2016, it was announced Pistorius had been denied his right to appeal, and would next be due in court on 13 June 2016 to begin a five-day sentencing hearing for the murder conviction, concluding on 17 June 2016.

According to the judgment, the person who Pistorius thought was in the cubicle had nothing to do with the results of his actions. The culpable homicide verdict was replaced with a murder conviction, and the case was referred back to the trial court for a sentencing hearing when it reconvened on 18 April 2016.

On 15 June 2016, the sentencing was adjourned by Judge Thokozile Masipa until 6 July 2016.

On 6 July 2016, Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years’ imprisonment for murder, rather than his original sentencing of five years imprisonment for culpable homicide; once again he was incarcerated in the hospital wing at the Kgosi Mampuru II jail. It was anticipated that Pistorius would be eligible for release on parole, after serving three years of his sentence, in 2019.

On 7 August 2016, Pistorius was treated at Kalafong Hospital, in Pretoria, after sustaining minor injuries to his wrists after slipping in his cell. Media reports of Pistorius injuring himself intentionally were said to be “completely untrue” by his brother Carl who said he was “doing well given the circumstances”.

On 21 July 2016, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that they would appeal against Judge Thokozile Masipa’s “shockingly lenient” 6-year jail sentence. The appeal hearing took place on 26 August 2016 and the bid to appeal the sentence was rejected by Masipa who said that the NPA had “no reasonable prospect of success” of securing a longer prison sentence for Pistorius. The NPA were then given 21 days to take their appeal bid to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). On 15 September 2016 it was confirmed that the NPA would make a fresh bid to extend Pistorius’ jail sentence and would file papers to the SCA on 16 September. After this announcement, sources associated with Pistorius’ family and the defence team accused Gerrie Nel and the NPA of pursuing a “personal vendetta” against Pistorius.

Pistorius was briefly released from prison for four hours on 14 October 2016 through a compassionate leave license to attend the funeral service of his grandmother, who died on 8 October 2016.

In November 2016, Pistorius was transferred from the Kgosi Mampuru jail to Atteridgeville Correctional Centre which is smaller and better adapted for disabled prisoners, as it has better facilities for inmates including bath tubs in cells. It also holds prisoners who are serving six-year sentences or less.

In June 2016, investigative reporter Mark Williams-Thomas gained exclusive access to interview Pistorius for ITV. Oscar Pistorius: The Interview was broadcast on 24 June in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

South African rap duo Die Antwoord made a reference to this case in the 2016 rap hit music video “Banana Brain”, in which lead rapper Ninja wears fake prosthetic legs and shoots in his car, and lead singer Yolandi Visser wears a blond wig.

On 19 September 2017, it was confirmed that the SCA would hear the state’s arguments appealing to extend Pistorius’ sentence on 3 November 2017, with their final ruling being confirmed on 24 November 2017.

On 24 November 2017, a South African court increased Pistorius’ jail sentence to 13 years and five months. Prosecutors had argued that the six-year term was too short. The SCA ruled his sentence be increased to 15 years, less time already served.

On 19 December 2017, it was confirmed that Pistorius had filed papers with the Constitutional Court to appeal the newly increased sentence and have his previous six-year sentence reinstated. On 9 April 2018, it was confirmed that on 28 March 2018 the appeal was dismissed by the courts; Pistorius will not be eligible for parole until at least 2023.

An unofficial biopic based on public records titled Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer, was aired on 18 November 2017 on South African TV. The movie was made without the consent of either the Pistorius or Steenkamp families. The Pistorius family threatened legal action against Lifetime Movies, the American television network that produced the movie.

In the 2018 Family Guy episode “HTTPete,” Peter Griffin is shot at through a bathroom door by Pistorius in a cutaway gag as a reference to the case.

On 1 August 2018, Amazon Prime released a four-part documentary series on its video service titled Pistorius; the episodes are titled “The Dream”, “Valentine’s Day”, “A Good Day to Tell You That I Love You” and “The Man Who Wasn’t There”.