Oscar Pistorius, Track Star Turned Convicted Murderer, Set To Leave Jail –
Oscar Pistorius’ life story from before and after Valentine’s Day 2013 reads like the script to two markedly different films – the first an inspirational sporting biopic and the second a grim tale of murder.
In the first he was the “Blade Runner”, the multiple Paralympic gold medallist with carbon-fibre prosthetic legs who became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics when he took part in the 2012 London games.
In the second he was the man convicted of murdering his 29-year-old girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp – a model and promising law graduate – by shooting her through the door of a bathroom in his Pretoria home.
On Friday, he will be back in the spotlight when he will be released from prison nearly 11 years after the killing. He was granted parole on Nov. 24, to take effect on Jan. 5.
Pistorius, who was born without fibulas and had both legs amputated below the knees before his first birthday, was once seen as the embodiment of human triumph over adversity.
The Johannesburg-born athlete gained global fame in the early 2000s, when he won Paralympic gold in the 200 metres at the Games in Athens.
Pistorius then set his sights on running against able-bodied athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but was barred from competing in the event by World Athletics – then called the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The ban was eventually overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but Pistorius failed to qualify for the Olympics, coming within 0.70 seconds of the qualifying standard for the 400 metres in Beijing.
Undeterred, he swept that year’s Paralympics, taking home the 100, 200 and 400 metre gold medals, before launching a bid to qualify for 2012 Olympics in London.
This time he was successful, and reached the 400m semi-finals and competed for South Africa in the 4x400m relay.
He also won another three Paralympic medals that year but then, on Feb. 14, 2013, he shot and killed Steenkamp.
A gun enthusiast, he told the trial he had believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her several times with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage to the human body. It was an account he repeated over the years.
He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a high court. But the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of the more serious charge of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
He was jailed in 2016, initially for six years which was later increased to more than 13 after an appeal by prosecutors who argued the initial sentence was too lenient.
In 2022, Pistorius met Steenkamp’s father Barry during a process known as victim-offender dialogue – part of South Africa’s restorative justice programme that brings parties affected by a crime together in a bid to achieve closure.
Few details were made public about the meeting and Steenkamp’s father died in 2023.
Her mother June said in a statement before the parole hearing for Pistorius, now 37 years old, that she was not convinced he had been rehabilitated.
But she added that she had forgiven him “long ago as I knew most certainly that I would not be able to survive if I had to cling to my anger”.
-Reuters
Nigeria did not make the cut as FIFA makes an inaugural Futsal Men’s and Women’s World Rankings. This could be due to the inactivity of the country in that aspect of football – the indoor soccer.
The FIFA Futsal Men’s World Cup enters its 10th edition this year in Uzbekistan, but Nigeria had taken part only once in 1992 in Hong Kong.
The Nigerian team came last in Group A comprising of Argentina, Poland and Hong Kong after losing all three matches.
In contrast, Morocco are ranked Africa’s number one and sixth in the world. Thanks to their recent victory was winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Futsal tournament, when they beat Angola 5-1 in the finals.
Among the top-ranked countries alongside Morocco are Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Iran, and Argentina.
Brazil led the FIFA Futsal Ranking, followed by Portugal in second place, Spain in third place, Iran in fourth place, and Argentina in fifth place.
Morocco, in sixth place, is followed by Russia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and France.
Paris St Germain missed a golden opportunity to reach their second Champions League final, but it was not all doom and gloom at the French club after a season of transition with a new coach.
The Ligue 1 champions were knocked out in the semi-finals on Tuesday after a 1-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund for a 2-0 aggregate loss, having hit the woodwork six times over the two legs and managed 31 attempts at the Parc des Princes.
“We were not inferior over the two legs, but football rewards those who score not those who hit the woodwork,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.
“My goal was to be fighting for all the titles. Tonight I’m proud of my team, of all the players.”
PSG won the Ligue 1 title and have the French Cup final to come later this month.
“We weren’t efficient, they were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches. There’s a lot to take back from this competition,” captain Marquinhos told reporters.
“At the start of the season, nobody believed we’d get this far. We’ve overcome a lot of obstacles, but we can’t throw everything away now just because we’ve been eliminated. We have to remember that this is a new project, with a new coach.
“There are positive things to take into the next season.”
PSG have now lost all six legs of their three two-legged Champions League semi-finals, after double defeats against AC Milan in 1995 and Manchester City in 2021.
The year they reached the final, in 2020, they beat RB Leipzig in a one-off semi-final after COVID-19 disrupted the season. They lost in the final against Bayern Munich.
This season started with a new coach in Luis Enrique and without Lionel Messi and Neymar as club president Nasser al-Khelaifi put an emphasis on building a team over individual talents.
While not always brilliant, PSG have looked like an organised outfit and the coach said he was already working on building a team without Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to leave at the end of the season.
“The players and coach gave their all. Congratulations to Dortmund, we deserved better. It’s a tough game. I’m proud of my team, the youngest in Europe,” Al-Khelaifi said.
“We’ve reached the semi-finals three times in five years. That’s not our objective, it’s still the final. That’s soccer, you have to accept it and sometimes it’s not fair. We’ll accept it.”
-Reuters
Brazil’s bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup scored higher than its rival, a joint bid from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany, in a FIFA’s evaluation report released on Tuesday.
The world soccer governing body bid report came ahead of the vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17, which will decide where the next Women’s World Cup will be held.
Last week, Mexico and the United States withdrew from the 2027 race to focus their efforts on hosting the 2031 tournament.
Based on the results of the technical evaluation, the Brazil bid received the highest overall average score of 4.0 out of 5, followed by the BNG bid with 3.7.
“The Bid Evaluation Task Force has determined that both bids qualify for consideration by the FIFA Council and the FIFA Congress, as both bids have exceeded the minimum requirements for hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in the technical evaluation,” FIFA said in a press release.
“Both bids can therefore be considered by the FIFA Council for submission to the FIFA Congress ahead of the final vote to select the host(s) of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027,” it added.
According to the report, Brazil’s bid offers good stadiums, having already hosted the 2021 World Cup. The country’s football association (CBF) and the Brazilian government have also shown their support for the bid and their commitment to hosting the event.
If successful, the bid would mark the first time South America has hosted the tournament.
-Reuters
Nigeria ungraded as FIFA begins futsal ranking
PSG can take positives despite missing out on Champions League again
Brazil’s bid to host the Women’s World Cup tops European rival
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