Here's a look at the life of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic sprinter from South Africa.
Personal: Birth date: November 22, 1986
Birth place: Johannesburg, South Africa
Birth name: Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius
Father: Henke Pistorius, a businessman
Mother: Sheila Pistorius
Education: Attended the University of Pretoria.
Other Facts: Born without fibulas in either leg, doctors amputated both legs below the knee at eleven months of age.
Grew up in Pretoria.
Nicknamed "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs" because of the carbon-fiber prosthetic blades he wears to run track.
Winner of six gold, one silver and one bronze Paralympic medals.
First double-amputee athlete to compete against able-bodied runners in the Olympics.
Timeline: 1987-1988 - Both legs are amputated below the knee and fitted with first prosthetics.
June 21, 2003 - Sustains knee injury while playing rugby in high school.
November 2003 - Runs track as part of his rehabilitation program at the Sports Science Institute at the University of Pretoria.
June 2004 - Is given his first pair of carbon fiber J-shaped limbs, with the brand name Flex-Foot Cheetah.
September 2004 - Competes in the Athens Paralympics, winning the gold medal for the 200m and the bronze for the 100m in the T44 class. He sets a Paralympic world record for the 100m.
March 26, 2007 - International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) introduces rule 144.2, which prohibits: (e) Use of any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device.
July 13, 2007 - In Rome, finishes second in the 400m 'B' race against able-bodied athletes. The race is an IAAF test to observe and determine if rule 144.2 (e) is being broken. The results are inconclusive.
November 12-13, 2007 - Completes a series of tests in Cologne, Germany, to evaluate the metabolic differences in amputees and non-amputees and whether or not those differences caused by use of the Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthetics violate rule 144.2(e). The report claims that the prosthetics give Pistorius an advantage over able-bodied competitors, which Pistorius strongly rejects.
January 14, 2008 - Pistorius is banned from competing in all IAAF-sanctioned events, "...running with these prostheses requires a less-important vertical movement associated with a lesser mechanical effort to raise the body, and the energy loss resulting from the use of these prostheses is significantly lower than that resulting from a human ankle joint at a maximal sprint speed." The ruling is based on the evaluation done in Germany in November 2007.
February 13, 2008 - An appeal to the ban is filed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by Pistorius through the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf.
May 16, 2008 - The CAS reverses the January IAAF ban on Pistorius and the Cheetahs, making him eligible to compete in the Beijing Olympics.
July 2008 - Fails to qualify for the South African Olympic team.
September 2008 - Wins three gold medals for the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints in the Beijing Paralympics, establishing a new Paralympic record in the 400m.
