(ATR) The International Paralympic Committee says that Paralympian Oscar Pistorius helped raise the profile of the Paralympic Movement before being known as the athlete who shot and killed his girlfriend.
Pistorius received a six-year prison sentence at the hands of Judge Thokozile Masipa of South Africa on Wednesday for killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, bringing an end to three years of back and forth decisions by South African judges and appellate courts. The six-year sentence is substantially less than the max of 15 years he could have received.
"For the family and friends of Reeva Steenkamp we hope the sentence brings some form of closure following this tragic case," IPC communications director Craig Spence tells Around the Rings.
Spence says the three-year trial did not hurt the Paralympic Movement although it was frustrating that mainstream media focused more on the trial as opposed to performances of para-athletes over the past three years.
"The media’s obsession with the case was and still is slightly frustrating however, especially for the athletes who competed in the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships," Spence tells ATR. "We had athletes there setting world records and raising the bar for Para athletics to new levels, yet many media overlooked these phenomenal performances and instead wanted to ask questions about Oscar."
Pistorius took the Paralympics by storm at the 2004 Games in Athens winning his first of six Paralympic gold medals while earning the nickname ‘Blade Runner’ for his prosthetic legs. He swept the sprint events at Beijing 2008 and at London 2012 became the first double leg amputee to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics.
Spence tells ATR that none of Pistorius’ gold medals nor his world record in the 400m (T44) will be stripped as a result of the murder conviction.
"It is important to differentiate between what took place on an athletics track and relates to sport, and what took place in Oscar’s home," Spence says. "The tragic events that took place in Oscar’s home in February 2013 have nothing at all to do with his sporting achievements pre-2013. Therefore there are no reasons to remove his medals or his records from the history books."
Spence says these performances "drew a lot of global media attention to the Paralympic Movement and raised interest to new levels".
When asked who will replace Pistorius as the star of the Paralympics, Spence says several athletes will step into the limelight at Rio 2016.
"Although many regarded [Pistorius] as the face of the Games going into London 2012, he wasn’t by the time of the Closing Ceremony," he says. "New stars had emerged to take the headlines. "The likes of Jonnie Peacock, David Weir, Marlou van Rhijn, Jessica Long and Markus Rehm all hit the headlines and are the current stars of the Paralympic Movement heading into Rio 2016."
Spence tells ATR that having a range of star athletes across many sports as opposed to an individual "can only be a good thing for the Movement".
The Rio 2016 Paralympics begin Sep. 7 and conclude Sep. 18.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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