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Oscar Pistorius is a volunteer caretaker at NG Kerk Waterkloof
Oscar trial – professor recommended room change
It was sports medicine Prof Wayne Derman who suggested that paralympian Arnu Fourie move from the room he shared with Oscar Pistorius at the 2012 London Paralympics, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Thursday
FILE PICTURE: Paralympian Oscar Pistorius sits in the dock during his murder trial at the high court in Pretoria, Monday, 12 May 2014. Pistorius is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Picture: Chris Collingridge/Independent Newspapers/Pool
This was because Fourie showed signs of becoming ill, Derman told the court during Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel first posed questions about the matter on Tuesday, and suggested the request was due to Oscar Pistorius shouting at people on his phone.
Fourie on Tuesday night posted a statement on social networking site Twitter. In the statement Fourie said he approached his doctor at the 2012 Paralympic Games to find out if the “isolation room was available two nights before our 100m final”.
“It was one of the most important races of my life and I wanted to rest and recover well on my own time in preparation for the race. I cherish all the moments we shared at the London Games,” Fourie said in the statement.
Fourie and Oscar Pistorius were teammates in the 400m relay at the games.
On Thursday Derman, sports and exercise medicine professor at the University of Cape Town, and the team doctor, said he noticed Fourie had the beginnings of an upper respiratory tract infection.
“It was my recommendation that he take the isolation room. The last thing you want is two athletes contaminated.”
Oscar Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.
He shot her through the locked door of the toilet in his Pretoria home, apparently thinking she was an intruder about to open the door and attack him. She was struck in the hip, arm, and head.
After firing the shots, Oscar Pistorius used a cricket bat to break open the door to get to a dying Steenkamp.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and to three firearm-related charges.
The State argues he killed her during an argument.
–Sapa
