Important dates in the life of Oscar Pistorius

GERALD IMRAY

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A look at some of the significant dates in Oscar Pistorius' headline-grabbing life:

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Nov. 22, 1986: Pistorius is born in Johannesburg with no fibula bones in his lower legs. His legs are amputated below the knee before he is a year old.

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March 6, 2002: Pistorius' mother, Sheila, dies after complications from surgery when Pistorius is 15. A defining influence on Pistorius, she instilled in him that he was no different from anyone else.

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Jan. 28, 2004: Having taken up track to rehabilitate from a rugby injury, Pistorius runs his first race on blades and clocks 11.72 seconds over 100 meters. The Paralympic record at the time was 12.20 seconds.

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Sept. 20, 2004: Pistorius breaks the Paralympic 200 meters world record in his first appearance at a major meet at the Athens Paralympics. A day later, he wins gold in another world-record time in the 200 final.

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Jan. 14, 2008: Pistorius is banned from competing against able-bodied athletes because of his blades. In May, the Blade Runner, as he becomes known, overturns the decision when he wins an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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February, 2009: Crashes a speed boat on a dam in South Africa sustaining serious facial and other injuries. Later concedes he needed to make changes in his life after taking "unnecessary risks."

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September, 2009: Pistorius is arrested after a female guest at a party at his house makes a complaint of assault against him. Pistorius later launches a counter-claim against the woman for falsely accusing him. Charges were not pursued.

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Aug. 4, 2012: Pistorius becomes the first amputee to compete on the track at the Olympics.

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Aug. 10, 2012: Anchors his team to a last-place finish in the 4x400 Olympic final. Still comes off the track smiling after realizing a career goal.

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Sep. 2, 2012: Pistorius complains that Alan Oliveira's blades are not within the rules after the Brazilian overtakes him in the final stages of the 200 final at the Paralympics, the first time Pistorius is beaten over 200 meters in Paralympic competition. Pistorius is accused of bad sportsmanship and later apologizes.

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Feb. 14, 2013: Pistorius is arrested in the early hours of Valentine's Day after the pre-dawn shooting death of model Reeva Steenkamp at his Pretoria house.

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Feb. 19, 2013: Pistorius sobs in court as he is formally charged with murder at his bail hearing.

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Feb. 21, 2013: Nike suspends its contract with Pistorius.

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Feb. 22: 2013: Pistorius is granted bail of 1 million rand (then $113,000) and released pending his trial. Pistorius goes to his uncle's house in an upmarket eastern suburb of Pretoria where the family says he will live.

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Aug. 19, 2013: Pistorius is indicted on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition and his high court trial date is set. Prosecutors indicate they will seek a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison before parole if Pistorius is convicted on the murder charge

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Mar. 3, 2014: Pistorius is due to appear at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for the start of his murder trial.