Oscar Pistorius CAN run in 2020 Paralympics, says South Africa sports chief

Oscar Pistorius could compete in the 2020 Olympics after a top South African sports official said the killer would have 'paid his debt' to society and should be free to take part.

The disgraced sprinter may serve just one more year in jail for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp, which would give him time to train and qualify for the Tokyo games, the country’s senior Olympics official told MailOnline.

Tubby Reddy, CEO of South Africa’s Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, said he had ‘no problem’ with the idea of the 'Blade Runner' returning to the national team and representing his country at the highest level – despite widespread condemnation of Pistorius’ crime and six year sentence.

‘He would have paid his debt to society and will be back in society, living as a normal South African citizen. There is no rule that says he wouldn’t be able to participate,’ the official said.

‘Yes, the sentence he has been given has divided opinion – there are those who are happy about it and there are those who are unhappy, and you will always have that.

'But if he is out on parole, as it seems he will be before then, and qualifies for selection then I don’t see how there can be a problem – why not?

‘He would have to train and get his mental strength back, but those are challenges he would have to set for himself.’ 

But as Pistorius woke up on his second day in a cramped cell on the hospital wing of Kgosi Mampuru II jail, there were others who were not feeling as forgiving.

The 29-year-old was subjected to a social media backlash prompted by the leniency of his punishment.

A steady stream of edgy memes and hashtags in a range of international languages were shared across many platforms, channeling international shock and outrage.

Common themes included how the track star’s fame, skin colour and family money had bought him special treatment by the court.

Other critics cited examples of harsher sentences handed down for rhino poachers, and black offenders who had stolen property but not used violence. 

Judge Thokozile Masipa herself, who chose to ignore the statutory minimum murder sentence of 15 years did not escape the wrath. The fact that she is female and black, appeared to fan the flames of anguish.

Friends of Reeva's used the sentencing hearing to remind their followers about the model and her life away from Pistorius.

Among those posting intimate pictures of their relationships with the 29 year old law graduate, were sisters Kim and Gina Myers, with whom Reeva was living in Johannesburg at the time of her death. 

Their father Cecil had the job of identifying the dead woman's bullet-ridden body in the hours after her murder.

Another friend was Darren Fresco, who gave evidence for the state at Pistorius' trial. His evidence related to one of three gun-related charges the runner faced, and Fresco described to the court seeing the gun-obsessed athlete firing into the air through the sunroof of a speeding car. 

State lawyers have two weeks in which to announce any challenge to the judge’s decision.

Today they are likely to be poring over South Africa’s sentencing legislation and the stark reality of its fine print – that Pistorius could be back at his uncle’s mansion, under house arrest, in a year.

Now that the double amputee is the responsibility of prison authorities, bosses at the overcrowded Kgosi Mampuru jail may well decide that Pistorius’ rehabilitation is complete and his cell is needed for another prisoner. 

If so, after 12 months, they may seek leave from the court to release their famous inmate and monitor him at home under ‘correctional supervision’.

Failing that, the prison management will still have the power to let him out on parole – with minimal or no restrictions – by early 2019, still a full year or more from the start of the Olympics, in Tokyo in July 2020. 

Although he will be aged 33 by then, qualifying for at least the Paralympics could still be within the shamed sportman’s grasp.

Pistorius rose to global fame at the London Olympics in 2012, when he made history by reaching the semi-finals of the 400m, racing alongside able-bodied athletes.

His close friend and agent, Peet van Zyl, handled the flurry of lucrative deals that were offered for ‘The Blade Runner’ to endorse in the wake of his success.

Peet, a defence witness at Pistorius’ trial, told MailOnline how he had visited the runner at his uncle’s mansion on Tuesday, his final day of freedom – and that his passion for athletics remained undimmed.

He described how the two old friends had debated the latest track results from new up-and-coming runners, and Pistorius’ old rivals, especially those racing the 400m. 

‘We spoke a lot about the results and the new guys coming through, and the times they are getting. 

'We usually talk about athletics when I see him. But he has said he is retired, and he does sound like he means it.

‘He isn’t training, just doing gym work at home. He seemed to have accepted what was going to happen to him, that he was going back to prison, and seemed calm, he was fine.