/ 13 September 2009

Oscar Pistorius arrested for assault

South Africa’s double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been arrested for assault, police said on Sunday.

Sergeant Miranda Stoltz told eTV that Pistorius, who spent the night in jail after the arrest on Saturday, was due to appear in court soon.

He was first arrested for assault after slamming a door on a woman but the police later changed the charge to common assault, said Stoltz, adding that according to his family and friends it was just an accident.

Pistorius, who had both legs removed between the knee and ankle as a baby, is nicknamed ”Blade Runner” because of the prosthetic legs that enable him to sprint.

He began competing against able-bodied athletes in 2007 but the governing IAAF banned him after ruling that his artificial limbs gave him an unfair advantage.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport lifted the ban last year and although he missed out on qualification for the Olympics, he won three gold medals in the Beijing Paralympics. – Reuters