Pistorius Ready to Run Again, Agents Says
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Scott Heavey/Getty Images(PRETORIA, South Africa) – Oscar Pistorius is ready to resume training, but his agent has told ABC News it is still unclear when he will return to the track to compete.
Peet van Zyl says Pistorius has expressed a desire to resume his training after his bail conditions were amended last week, allowing him to travel abroad.
Pistorius met with van Zyl and his coach, Ampie Louw, Tuesday night to discuss his return to the international sporting arena.
“We are not saying he will compete straightaway. For now he will just start training again and we will let him dictate the pace. If he wants to start today, we’ll let him and if he wants to wait two or three days before his next training session, that would be totally up to him,” van Zyl said.
Pistorius is charged with the Valentine’s Day murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his luxury home in Pretoria. He was released on bail of more than $100,000. Last week he successfully challenged some of his bail conditions, leaving him free to compete internationally again.
Van Zyl says the athlete, dubbed “The Blade Runner,” has not set foot on a track since Steenkamp’s death: “He is still in mourning and training might help him deal with what had happened.” He said Louw is keen to get Pistorius back into “some kind of a routine.”
The double amputee is due back in court on June 4, but his trial might only start later this year or early next year.
Prosecutors allege he shot Steenkamp deliberately as she was cowering behind a locked bathroom door in the early hours of Feb. 14. The defense has argued Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder. In a statement read out during the bail application, Pistorius claims he feared for his safety and the safety of his girlfriend when he fired four shots into the door. Steenkamp was hit by three of the four rounds and died.
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