South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who faces murder charges for fatally shooting his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day, could be preparing to resume training. According to , a high school student visiting the University of Pretoria, Pistorius’ training grounds, snapped a photo of the double amputee from a bus with her phone. The grainy image showed Pistorius walking the track on his famed blades, hands on his hips, though he wasn’t seen running. “He was just walking to the 100 meter end line down the final stretch. It looked like he was going to take his blades off,” the student said.
Pistorius’ family and his agent, Peet van Zyl, denied any claims that the photo was evidence of the sprinter’s return to the track in the midst of the ongoing murder trial, saying he was merely “having a jog around the track.” Still, Van Zyl acknowledges that .
Arnold Pistorius, the uncle, also appeared to be readying the world for the return of his nephew to running on track regularly, even though he was still “extremely traumatized” by the death of Steenkamp.
“We all encouraged him to get back onto the track to help stabilize him emotionally,” Arnold Pistorius said. “We encourage him to start exercising as we believe it is a vital step in helping him deal with the trauma.”
Pistorius, who is on bail after pleading not guilty, will head back to court in June to face trial.