Road to reconciliation: Oscar Pistorius meets with father of Reeva Steenkamp to pave way for parole

The Blade Runner is back in the headlines in the run-up to the World Athletics Championships.

However, the circumstances could not be more different for Oscar Pistorius. In 2011, he became the first amputee athlete selected to run at worlds. Pistorius represented South Africa in Daegu, South Korea, as the country’s only runner in the 400 meters and as a member of the 4 x 400-meter relay team.

Pistorius was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Now a different court system is deciding his future. Pistorius, who was convicted of killing his partner Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013, met with her father Barry in late June.

The meeting constituted the victim-offender dialogue that is part of the process for seeking parole in South Africa.

Pistorius became world-famous as a double-leg amputee who dominated the Paralympics and then wanted to compete against able-bodied competitors. After achieving his dream and running in the 2012 London Olympics, Pistorius won his fifth and sixth gold medals plus a silver in the 2012 Paralympics.

Five months later, he shot Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door at his home in Pretoria on Valentine’s Day.

Pistorius said he believed the 29-year-old model was an intruder and he was not wearing his prosthetics. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, but in 2015 the ruling was upgraded to murder by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal. His prison sentence was increased to 13 years and five months.

Under South African law, Pistorius became eligible for parole after serving half his sentence. However, a scheduled parole hearing for Pistorius last year was cancelled because he had not met Steenkamp’s parents.

The victim-offender dialogue strives to help victims of crimes or their relatives achieve closure by meeting the perpetrators in a controlled environment. The condition must be met before parole is considered.

Tania Koen, the lawyer representing Barry and June Steenkamp, said late last year that the parents “are Reeva’s voice, and they owe it to their beloved daughter.”

To facilitate the meeting, Pistorius, 35, was moved from the Atteridgeville correctional facility in Pretoria to a facility in the southern city of Gqeberha, the Steenkamps’ home town. He has since been moved back, according to a spokesman South Africa’s department of correctional services.

The spokesman told TimesLive newspaper, “There is a need to emphasize that inmates are required to partake in the VOD as part of their rehabilitation path wherein they are able to acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large.”

Koen declined to give details about the meeting, telling the the Associated Press that the dialogue “is a private and confidential matter.”

Pistorius now awaits the scheduling of a parole hearing where officials will decide his future.

In the upcoming World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, South Africa will be led by world record holder Wayde van Niekerk in the 400 meters. Returning from injury, he clocked 44.58 seconds in Marietta, Georgia, on July 2. Nene Zakhiti will also represent South Africa.

In 2011, Pistorius’ performance in Daegu was the culmination of a long battle to reach his sport’s biggest stage. He was cleared to compete at the 2008 Olympics, but failed to qualify for Beijing. He also did not qualify for the 2009 Worlds in Berlin.

Pistorius needed to meet the World Championships standard of 45.25 seconds having never run faster than 45.61. In his final race before the cutoff date, he ran 45.07 seconds in Lignano, Italy.

“I have dreamt for such a long time of competing in a major championships and this is a very proud moment in my life,” Pistorius said in a statement. “It is an honor to be representing my country at such a prestigious event and I hope to do my best at the competition for South Africa.”

“If I manage to make it through the heats, I would be thrilled,” he added. “A good performance for me would be to be consistent through the heats. If I ran anywhere close to my PB (personal best), I would be delighted.”

Pistorius reached the semifinals in Daegu after running his second-fastest time, 45.39 seconds, in the heats. He placed eighth in his semi, clocking 46.19. Pistorius was then disappointed to run only in the first round of the 4 x 400 relay, but he received a silver medal when his South African teammates placed second in the final.

By the time the next World Championships rolled around in 2013 in Moscow, Pistorius was facing a murder charge.