By Sfundo Parakozov and Alessandro Parodi
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was spotted competing in a triathlon last weekend in the coastal city of Durban, 12 years after murdering his girlfriend and a year after his release on parole.
Afrikaans-language news website Netwerk24 on Wednesday reported Pistorius’ participation in the Ironman 70.3 competition. Netwerk24 cited an unnamed source as saying that Pistorius had permission from his parole officer to compete.
Conrad Dormehl, an attorney for Pistorius, confirmed to Reuters that Pistorius had participated in the Durban race.
Singabakho Nxumalo, spokesperson of South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services, said he did not know whether Pistorius had received permission to compete, but would find out and respond to questions sent by Reuters. He said his parole officer would have needed to approve him travelling from where he lives to another district.
Pistorius – dubbed “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs – shot dead 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013, in a crime that drew worldwide attention and shocked a nation inured to violence against women.
He repeatedly said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and launched multiple appeals against his conviction on that basis. Pistorius, now 38, was freed from jail in January 2024 after completing more than half his sentence and is on parole until his sentence expires in 2029.
Netwerk24 published a photograph of Pistorius riding a bicycle with the race number 105. Pistorius’ distinctive tattoo and prosthetic legs were visible in the photograph.
Reuters contacted the photographer who gave the news agency permission to publish images similar to the one Netwerk24 used.
Results published online by sports-timing company SportSplits show an athlete called Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius competed in the triathlon under race number 105, coming 555th among all participants and third in the “physically challenged” category.
The race involved a 2-km swim, a 90-km bike ride and a 21-km run – a total distance of 70.3 miles.
Pistorius was once the darling of the sports world, and a pioneering voice for disabled athletes, for whom he campaigned to be allowed to compete with able-bodied participants at major sports events.
He won six gold medals over three Paralympic Games in Athens, Beijing and London, and competed in able-bodied races at the London 2012 Olympics.
(Additional reporting by Mark Gleeson, Alexander Winning, Maria Paula Laguna and Siphiwe Sibeko; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)
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