Pistorius surpassed the limits imposed on him as a Paralympian after being born with a rare birth defect which affected his legs.
How did Oscar Pistorius lose his legs?
Oscar Pistorius was born without calf bones, a rare birth defect known as fibular hemimelia.
When he was just 11 months old, doctors decided that Pistorius should have the lower portion of his legs amputated.
Six months later, the South African baby was taught to walk on fibreglass pegs.
What is fibular hemimelia?
Fibular hemimelia is a rare birth defect that affects 1 in 50,000 babies.
It is the name for a condition in which a baby is born with an unusually short, or sometimes missing fibula – the outer of two bones in the lower leg.
The condition can also affect other bones in the leg, as well as the ankle and foot.
The cause of the condition isn’t known and treatment is dependent on how badly a child is affected.
In some cases, surgery can fix the limb length difference but in others, amputation and a prosthesis is required.
When did Oscar Pistorius start running?
Pistorius participated in numerous sports when he was growing up, including water polo and rugby in secondary school.
The young sportsman injured his knee in 2003, and took up track as a form of rehabilitation.
It was here that his running career began.
By 2004, Pistorius had won gold in the 200-metre sprint at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games and took home a bronze medal in the 100-metres.
Pistorius was running fast enough by 2007 to compete against able-bodied athletes – but attracted accusations that his high-tech prostheses gave him an an unfair advantage.
In the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, he swept up three gold medals in the 100-metres, 200-metres, and 400-metres.
In London’s 2012 games, Oscar became the first amputee to compete at the Olympics, running in an opening heat of the men’s 400-metre sprint.
Where is Oscar Pistorius now?
Pistorius is currently serving a 13 year and five month sentence after he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Pistorius was denied parole in 2023 and will not be eligible again until 2024.
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