Oscar Pistorius - Where Did It All Go Wrong? , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Jack Goldstein

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19 pages

English

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In the early hours of the morning on Thursday the 14th of February 2013, world famous athlete Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead. Pistorius claims that it was a mistake - he thought it was a burglar. The police claim that it was a premeditated murder.This book offers the reader a quick-read biography of Pistorius's life, his amazing achievements as an athlete, and the events of that one tragic night. It looks at the facts put forward so far by each party, and asks a number of questions about the version of events given by the prosecution and the defence.

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Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	10 juin 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781783330713
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0150€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Title Page
OSCAR PISTORIUS
Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Jack Goldstein

Publisher Information
First published in 2013 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© 2013 Jack Goldstein
The right of Jack Goldstein to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Disclaimer: All facts presented in this title were gained from common and reputable sources in print and on the internet. If any detail within this title is found to be incorrect, the author will be happy to publish a corrected version.

One: The Early Years
Born This Way
On the twenty-second of November 1986 in an area of South Africa which (at the time) was called the Transvaal, Sheila Pistorius gave birth to a unique child. Sadly, this child was born without a fibula in either of his legs. As any parent of a disabled child will know, one still loves the child unconditionally - perhaps even more so - and the most important thing is to ensure they can live as ordinary and inclusive a life as possible. Now Sheila and her husband Henke would have to do this for their new-born baby - Oscar.
Oscar’s condition is called fibular hemimelia. Little is known about the causes of the disorder, with suggestions from the medical profession including maternal viral infections, vascular dysgenesis and even embryonic trauma. For Oscar’s parents however, how he had been born in such a way was no longer important - what mattered was how best to help him through life.
There are two key options available to those with the condition. The first is amputation, the second are a series of treatments to lengthen what bone is available. Whilst the second option may sound less drastic, for those with the most extreme forms of the disorder, amputation is the only solution. Besides, leg-lengthening surgery is extremely costly (which in this day and age is still sadly a factor to consider) and can cause further problems with no guarantee of resolving the original deformity.
It was therefore recommended to Sheila and Henke that when he was at an age where surgery was safe, Oscar should have both his legs amputated. Although the child would certainly face many difficulties throughout his life, he could learn how to overcome mobility issues at a very early age. Oscar’s parents agreed, and when he reached the age of just eleven months, a highly skilled team of surgeons amputated both of his legs below the knee.
And thus Oscar’s life began down a path which would lead to amazing heights of success... but also some terrible and tragic difficulties.
Growing Up
Oscar progressed perhaps better than anyone could have hoped. As his prosthetics were all he knew, he learned to handle himself exceptionally well in them. To him, walking and running with other children were just normal activities - yes, his legs were a little different, but why should that stop him joining in the fun?
In fact, it was from such an early age that Oscar’s determination started to shine through. Rarely did he complain that things were hard for him, or ask to be treated differently. In fact, Oscar’s wish was always for inclusion - for people not to treat him as if he was special, but to see him as just another child.
And - for the most part - they did.
Oscar’s first school was Constantia Kloof Primary, where his teachers helped and nurtured him through the early years of his life just as they would any other child. Importantly, they helped him develop a love of sport.
South Africa as a country has had a terribly troubled past. Even today it suffers the after effects of more than forty years of apartheid - racial segregation enforced by a white government, introduced in the late 1940s (although it had been rife for many, many years before then). Of all the countries across the world that have had issues with racial tension, South Africa surely is the leading example.
But there is one thing which without doubt unites the country. And that is sport. Whether it is the Springboks winning at rugby, the cricket team beating their Australian rivals, or Bafana Bafana (‘Go boys, go boys’) playing in a world cup, the whole of South Africa are behind them.
So despite his physical disability, Oscar wanted to feel the glory that sport can offer. Anyone who has played an individual or team game will know the joy that can come with winning - and of course the sorrow that losing can bestow. Rugby was one of his first loves (this is - of course - South Africa!), along with water polo and tennis. Oscar showed himself to be an extremely competent sportsman even as a youngster, when at the age of eleven years old and now attending Pretoria Boys High School, he competed in tennis and water polo competitions at provincial level, and even his hard-hitting, rough-and-tumble rugby in inter-school tournaments.
Oscar had already been identified by scouts as a potential future competitor at higher levels, and they did what they could to encourage him. In addition to his three school sports, he also trained hard as a wrestler, learning the sport at Jannie Brooks’s Pretoria-based gym.
But then tragedy struck. During a rugby match, Oscar suffered an agonising knee injury. It was so serious that he would never be able to play in such a heavy-handed contact sport again. Oscar required months of rehab, and it seemed that whatever he did, something would be trying to stop him.
Introduction to Running
But we mustn’t forget about Oscar’s determination. He did not let the injury beat him. At Pretoria University’s high-performance centre (where Oscar attended his rehab sessions), a sports coach called Ampie Louw introduced him to competitive running. So impressed was Ampie with Oscar’s speed - even whilst recovering from such a terrible injury - that he suggested Oscar focus on this as a potential career.
As anyone who plays sport will contend, running at speed puts a very particular strain on the legs. The same was of course true for Oscar. But in addition to that, it put a strain on his prosthetics, and Oscar knew that ensuring the right kind of lower leg would be vital in him perfecting his running technique.
At first, Oscar requested a set of ‘blades’ - specially-shaped prosthetics offering the perfect combination of weight and strength - from South African prosthetics expert Francois Vanderwatt. Frustratingly however, the blades broke. Oscar was such a competent runner that his pace, technique and strength was just too much for even the best prosthetics engineer in South Africa!

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