Oscar Pistorius's life and career - in pictures

Pistorius was born without fibula bones in both legs and when he was 11 months old, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles Photograph: Gallo Images/Rex Features

A sports enthusiast as a child, he began competitive running in early 2004 and was soon winning medals
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Pistorius won his first Paralympic gold medal in Athens in 2004 in the 200m Photograph: Getty

The Johannesburg-born athlete won a long-running legal battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2008 for the right to compete in able-bodied competition. The IAAF claimed his blades gave him an unfair advantage but Pistorius proved otherwise. However, he was not yet fast enough to earn a place in the South African Olympic squad
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Pistorius pipped Jerome Singleton of the US in the final of the T44 100m at the 2008 Paralympic Games to win gold
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He also claimed golds at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in the T44 400m and 200m, making him a crowd favourite
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Pistorius became a marketing dream. Here, he's pictured speaking at a press conference at a hotel in Daegu ahead of the IAAF World Championships in 2011
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Having won the right to compete at the Olympics, Pistorius ran several races at the Games in London but left despondent. He made it to the semi-finals of the 400m, where he finished eighth and last with a time of 46.54 seconds. In the 4x100m relay final, the South African team featuring Pistorius also finished last
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Then, at the Paralympic Games, Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira of Brazil beat Pistorius in the T44 200m final in a shock result. Pistorius complained after the race that his rival's blades were too long
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Pistorius came back, however, to clinch gold in the men's 400m – the race he was most desperate to win and also added 4x400m gold to his haul of medals
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The news broke on February 14 of a tragedy at his home in Pretoria. Here, Pistorius leaves the Boschkop police station after the shooting that killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
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