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Poll: Should Oscar Pistorius be banned from competing for life?

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Oscar Pistorius has endured a first night of incarceration of a five-year sentence which means he will not return to the athletics track where he made his name until at least 2019, if he returns at all.

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The 27-year-old six-time Paralympic champion and London 2012 Olympian was last month found guilty of culpable homicide (or manslaughter), but cleared of murder, for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.

Pistorius was on Tuesday in Pretoria jailed by Judge Thokozile Masipa for five years and handed a three-year suspended sentence for a separate firearms charge - for discharging a weapon in a restaurant - as a lengthy case reached its conclusion.

  • Have your say: Should Pistorius be banned from competing for life? Vote now in our poll and join the debate in the comments section below.

A member of Pistorius' legal team claimed after the hearing that he is expected to serve a sixth of the sentence - around 10 months - in jail before being held under house arrest.

It was an horrific tragedy which puts sport into context.

Irrespective of when Pistorius is released, he will be ineligible to compete in International Paralympic Committee competitions for the entirety of his five-year sentence.

IPC spokesman Craig Spence said on Sky Sports News: "On his prospects of competing, for us he would have to serve the whole term even if he was released early.

"I think it (his sentence) will have very little impact. London 2012 showed that the Paralympian movement is about more than just one man. Lots of stars were born there."

An International Olympic Committee spokesman said on Tuesday: "We take note of the court's decision.

"This is a human tragedy for the family of Reeva Steenkamp and also for Oscar Pistorius.

"We hope very much that time will bring comfort to all those concerned but at this stage we have no further comment to make."

Pistorius has been a star of the Paralympic Movement for almost a decade since winning his first gold in the Athens Games in 2004, aged 17.

Should Oscar Pistorius be banned from competing for life? Vote now in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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