Oscar Pistorius allowed to leave South Africa with conditions

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius can leave South Africa to compete in international track meets, a judge ruled today as he upheld the Olympic athlete's appeal against some of his bail restrictions.

Pistorius' agent told The Associated Press that this year's world championships could be "on the radar."

Judge Bert Bam said Pistorius, who is charged with murder in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, must travel under certain conditions. His passport will be held by a court while he is in South Africa, and he can only leave the country if he provides an itinerary of his travel plans at least a week before he is due to leave. Pistorius must also hand his travel documents back to the court within 24 hours of returning home.

The ruling in a North Gauteng High Court opens the way for the Paralympic champion, who is facing a life sentence if found guilty of murder, to run in international competitions again.

Pistorius' agent, Peet van Zyl, told the AP soon after the ruling that Pistorius could even run at the world championships in Moscow in August — if he wanted to and if he qualified.

"Based on this (judge's decision), and if he is up for it and qualifies, the world championships will definitely be on the radar," Van Zyl told the AP by telephone.

The judge's decision was "fair," Van Zyl said, but any return to competition would be up to Pistorius, who hasn't run competitively since September or trained for two months.