The South African soon started to dominate the Paralympics, and soon the 'Blade Runner' wanted to challenge able-bodied athletes on the track, here we track his career and how he fought to highlight the Paralympics.
1986: Born November 22, in Pretoria, South Africa, without the fibula in both legs.
1987: October - aged 11 months, his parents make the decision to have his legs amputated below the knee. Despite this he played rugby, water polo and tennis as a schoolboy.
2004: January - After shattering his right knee playing rugby he reverts to athletics at the age of 17. Runs the 100 metres at an open competition at the Pilditch Stadium in Pretoria. Despite only training for two months, he sets a new world record of 11.51 seconds.
September: Wins gold in the 200m at the Paralympic Games in Athens, setting a new world record of 21.97secs, and bronze in the 100m.
2005: March - Competes in the open/able-bodied category at the South African Open Championships, finishing sixth in the 400m.
May 15 - Wins the 100m and 200m at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, both in world record times.
2006: September - Wins three golds in the 100m, 200m and 400m at the IPC World Championships in Holland.
2007: April: Breaks his own 100m and 200m world records at the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled, winning gold in both events.
December 9 - Awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason award, for outstanding courage and achievement in the face of adversity.
2008: January - Athletics' world governing body the IAAF rules that Pistorius' prosthetic legs are ineligible for use in competitions conducted under its rules, including the Olympic Games.
February - Appeals against the IAAF's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
May - Makes Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
May 16 - Court of Arbitration for Sport reverses the IAAF's ban, allowing Pistorius to try to qualify for the Olympics.
July 16 - Pistorius fails in his final attempt to achieve the able-bodied Olympic qualifying time for the 400m, despite running a personal best of 46.25 seconds.
September - Competes at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, winning the 100m, 200m (in a Paralympic record time) and the 400m (in a world record time).
2009: An English version of Pistorius' autobiography is released and renamed Blade Runner.
2011: January - Wins three IPC World titles in New Zealand but beaten for the first time in seven years in the 100 metres.
July 19 - Sets personal best in 400m of 45.07secs, meeting the World Championship and Olympic Games qualification mark.
August - Included in the South Africa team for the World Championships in Daegu. Qualifies for the semi-finals of the 400m, but eliminated with a time of 46.19.
Runs the opening leg of a semi-final 4x400m relay as South Africa set a national record, but not selected for the final where his country win silver.
2012: July 4 - Named in the South African Olympic team for the 400m and the 4x400m relay.
August 4 - Becomes the first amputee runner at the Olympics when he finishes second in a 400m heat. He was eliminated at the semi-final stage.
August 9 - Part of the South Africa team which finishes eighth in the 4x400m final. Pistorius is chosen to carry his country's flag at the closing ceremony.
August 29 - Carries the flag at the Paralympics opening ceremony.
September 2 - Finishes second in the final of the 200m T44 classification, squandering a lengthy lead to Alan Oliveira. After the race, Pistorius raises issue with the length of his Brazilian rival's blades, causing a huge media storm.
September 3 - Releases a statement apologising for the timing of his comments about Oliveira.
September 8 - Secures gold in the 400m at the Paralympic Games.
2013: February 14: A 30-year-old woman is shot and killed at Pistorius' home in Pretoria. Police question a 26-year-old man, reported locally to be Pistorius, over the shooting.
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