Desert Dubliner

Croatian press are quoting an official stating that evidence shows he tried everything to revive her. Apparently he is in a dire psychological condition and officials worry he might take his own life.

Eva

Dorothy,
I guess language is subjective to a degree but here is my reply anyway.
Please read all of my previous post.I think it is clear that my sympathy lies with the deceased and her loved ones.Did OP knowingly murder her? I know what my opinion is and again in my humble opinion,it is beyond tragic for the girl and her family.Personally,my opinion is that it is an absolute travesty that this is being purported as a case of mistaken identity.

Lance Armstrong was/is a liar and a cheat, it is tragic that he got away with the deceit for so long thus compounding the damage to the sport.

In answer to your question,no, I don't know either party involved in this terrible crime.By your reasoning, must I know every victim of the Japanese Tsunami before I can describe that event as tragic? Or perhaps have been to tea with Amy Winehouse so that I can talk about her tragic self perpetuating waste of life and subsequent death?

Arguably, Pistorius's appearance in the regular Olympics advanced the notion of inclusiveness. Contrary to the Dean's opinion,I believe fellow Paralympic competitors encouraged and supported him in his bid to take part in the regular games- they don't compete because of their disabilities,they compete in spite of them after all- or should they just accept the 'perceived' limitations of their 'disabilities'
So,for me it is tragic that having achieved such a leap of faith for himself and other athletes- the arrogance which fame so often seems to nurture got the better of him.It is tragic for him to now realize that while he may have been feted and raised to a godlike status,he is in fact not above the law and the consequences of his actions will in many ways end his own life as he knows it too.
Was it the movie 'A Bronx Tale' which contained the quote: 'The saddest thing in life is wasted talent'
Too often these days we hear of talented famous people stepping out beyond what is acceptable because they believe their own hype.
O.P. won the admiration and love of thousands,he was set up financially for life,it is tragic that by his own hand,he destroyed everything including a beautiful young woman.
I describe the events as tragic, you describe the same events as disappointing ...
Semantics? Or our personal opinions? ....

Sally Redux

I understand what Eva is saying. When we have these terrible mass shootings here, I feel it's a tragedy for the shooter and his family as well as the obvious victims. It's why I hate guns so much.

Desert Dubliner

Lets be judgmental, after all it is a white male we are talking about, guilty by default.

Eva

What an interesting post number you have...

Anyway,if your post relates to my previous,are you suggesting the content mitigates OP's actions in any way?

The Dean

Baron de Coubertin never envisaged a Paralympics, bless him - such a dreadful lack of vision.......

Pistorius should have had the guts to say 'I have decided to ignore my so-called handicap and I now intend to compete as a normally-abled athlete (or whatever the politically-correct phrase is) from now on'. Despite the 'do the blades give him an advantage?' controversy, THAT would have been a position I would have respected......

........ instead he wanted to have his cake and eat it, by also making sure he was registered for a competition where he knew he could shine. In his decision to also compete in the main event, he wasn't supported or encouraged by other Paralympians that I am aware of; read Tanni Grey-Thompson on this (she puts it far better than I can, and from a disabled perspective).

Basically - and forgive my bluntness - you're either disabled or you're not, in a sporting sense at least. Ellie Simmonds and the like 'only' succeeded in the Paralympics - such under-achievers. I stand by my comment - he undermined the Paralympics by choosing to compete in both.

And Mentalist - your comments are beneath contempt. The non-League comment was not lost on me (you know my team are non-League and have been enjoying a good Cup run which came to an end yesterday) but that has nothing to do with disability. Scamp summed it up perfectly with his Rooney comment.

NorthernLad

It seems a lot people (and the press) have already passed sentence. The whole situation is very odd - I was in South Africa last week and the guys in the office had several different points of view, but all agreed that it is a very sad situation in that this guy who worked all his life to achieve what he did has lost it all. The speculation is out of control, and the competency of the police there will be key in what happens in the trial.
With regards to the Olympics, look at it this way. You are born with a severe disability but you dream all your life of taking part in the very pinnacle of sporting events. Should that be denied? How would any other disable athlete react at the opportunity to be competitive with other able bodied athletes? To me it was a great example of how some people can achieve their dreams and offers hope.

scrubbedexpat141

Horrid timing for this ad coming out not that long ago.

The Dean

Yes - so have the balls to NOT compete in the 'easier fall-back' alternative as well ...... if he had chosen the 'main' Olympics only, fine.

Desert Dubliner

Come on give the guy a break. It's like criticizing and go-cart driver for having a go at the F1 while staying in the go cart championship.

It is all down to ability and even the non-disabled athletes are not all born with the same predisposition and ability. Some have top class ability and some don't, still all compete where they can manage.

scrubbedexpat141

I see what you are saying in principle...but still disagree that you can have cake and eat it.

I have (and will do until found guilty) a huge amount of respect for him, not just his ability to compete and perform and be successful but for raising the PAralympics profile so much. I just wish he had continued to be an ambassador for those international events rather than forcing the IOC to let him have a go at the Olympics. It just smacks of "I'll win this Paralympics stuff easy, let me compete in that one, I'm too good for the other stuff".

I suppose that's just my interpretation, but it is the way it comes across.

Miss Anne Thrope

I'd have to say here that - gulp!! - I agree with DD on this one (though not on the silly point on white victimhood). If you recall, Pistorius was not allowed to compete in the Olympics before 2012 and established himself solely due to his outstanding performances in the Paralympics. He became by far the most famous disabled athlete in history (globally as opposed to just the UK) partly because the "blade runner" moniker was so catchy for journalists and he presented such a compelling visual image. If he had abandoned the Paralympics once he was able to compete in the Olympics it would have been treachery - or at least selling out - and he was good enough to compete at the Olympics (he got to a semi-final after all) so why not? The Paralympics benefitted from his presence due to the publicity. It was there that he made his somewhat unsporting comments about other competitors (ironically, very similar to what others were saying about him in the Olympics).

scrubbedexpat141

You see, I don't disagree with what you are saying, but I don't think he can have it both ways.

The toys out the pram in the Paralympics was just a bit unfortunate and not a smart move.

I just do not understand why he felt the need to go to such lengths to come last in a semi-final...

The Dean

No it isn't - we are talking about a disability (are we allowed to actually call it that?), not a mere standard of competition (you're repeating Mentalist's silly point about non-League teams in the FA Cup).

Pistorius competed in the main Olympics, thus saying (in effect) that 'I may be disabled, but look at me - I'm better than all the rest of you Paralympians!'.

Look at it the other way round - if the IOC had said 'Oscar, you can compete in one or the other, but not both', would anyone have been screaming in protest? Him, even? I doubt it.

jam25mack

I don't think he should have been permitted to race in the main Olympics as there is no way on earth they could ever prove that the race would be fair in either direction - blades to legs and vice versa. He was of another opinion and spent ages arguing his point that his blades gave him no physical advantage and finally they let him run. This was fine until he then spat his dummy out at the Para Olympics when someone else had longer blades than him as he thought this was unfair as it gave them an advantage...... eh?Apparently they are scaled to how tall you were / would be if in proportion to the rest of your body, I.e you cannot just ask for 3' long blades.

Can this now cross over into other Olympic sports? Canoeists with paddles for hands?

As for if he is guilty or not.... who knows. The story from the (neighbors) that there was two separate spurts of gunfire ten minutes apart doesn't look to good tho.