JOHANNESBURG (AP) ― Oscar Pistorius’ track career was put on hold indefinitely Sunday because of his murder charge, reinforcing the possibility that the double-amputee Olympian and disabled sports icon might never run again competitively on his famous carbon fiber blades.
Pistorius’ agent was forced to cancel all future races, he said, so Pistorius could concentrate on defending himself against allegations he murdered his model girlfriend by shooting her several times in his upscale house on Valentine’s Day morning.
Reeva Steenkamp died from gunshot wounds suffered inside Pistorius’ home in the predawn hours of Thursday. Pistorius was arrested and charged with her murder the same day. His family denies he murdered her. “I have decided that following these tragic events that we have no option but to cancel all future races that Oscar Pistorius had been contracted to compete in,” agent Peet van Zyl said in a written statement late Sunday night.
A few hours earlier, Van Zyl had visited his athlete at a police station in the South African capital, Pretoria, where he is being held in custody in a red-bricked, one-story building with green metal fencing.
Pistorius has been there since Friday following the shocking developments at his villa in a gated community in Pretoria’s eastern suburbs where Steenkamp was shot dead.
Her death and Pistorius’ arrest stunned South Africans, who revered Pistorius for his humble nature and success at overcoming adversity to become an international star, despite having his lower legs amputated as a baby. Pistorius still had “overwhelming support” from his fans, Van Zyl said as he left Brooklyn police station, but the agent steered away from a question from a reporter on what Pistorius’ emotional state was now like following the death of his girlfriend and a possible realization that his entire career was in ruins.