JOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Reuters) – South African former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was noticed collaborating in a triathlon final weekend within the coastal metropolis of Durban, 12 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in against the law that drew worldwide consideration.
Pistorius, 38, was free of jail in January 2024 after finishing greater than half his sentence and is on parole till his sentence expires in 2029.
Singabakho Nxumalo, spokesperson for South Africa’s Division of Correctional Companies, stated Pistorius had approval to attend the race, the Ironman 70.3 Durban.
“There was no breach in terms of his parole conditions,” Nxumalo stated.
Afrikaans-language information web site Netwerk24 first reported Pistorius’ participation within the occasion on Wednesday.
Conrad Dormehl, an legal professional for Pistorius, confirmed to Reuters that Pistorius had featured within the Durban race.
“This forms part of his rehabilitation into society. Whilst he particularly enjoyed participating in the event and seems to have been bitten by the bug that is triathlon sport, he isn’t eyeing any comeback into competitive running just yet,” he stated.
Pistorius – dubbed “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs – shot useless 29-year-old mannequin Steenkamp by a locked lavatory door on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
He repeatedly stated he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and launched a number of appeals in opposition to his conviction on that foundation.
His launch on parole after about eight and a half years in jail, in addition to seven months below home arrest, provoked a uncooked response in a rustic scarred by violence in opposition to ladies.
Netwerk24 printed {a photograph} of Pistorius driving a bicycle with the race quantity 105, his distinctive tattoo and prosthetic legs seen.
Reuters contacted the photographer who gave the information company permission to publish photos much like the one Netwerk24 used.
Outcomes printed on-line by sports-timing firm SportSplits present an athlete known as Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius with race quantity 105 got here 555th amongst all members within the Ironman race and third within the “physically challenged” class.
The course concerned a 2-km swim, a 90-km bike trip and a 21-km run – a complete distance of 70.3 miles.
Pistorius was as soon as a darling of the sports activities world, and a pioneering voice for disabled athletes, for whom he campaigned to be allowed to compete with able-bodied members at main sports activities occasions.
He received six gold medals over three Paralympic Video games in Athens, Beijing and London, and competed in able-bodied races on the London 2012 Olympics.
(Extra reporting by Mark Gleeson, Alexander Profitable, Maria Paula Laguna and Siphiwe Sibeko; Enhancing by Alexander Profitable and Alex Richardson)
