Dear Paralympic Friends,<br /><br /><br /><br />On Thursday morning we all woke up to terribly tragic news; news we did<br />not think was possible, and news at first we did not want to hear,<br />believe, or start to comprehend. It was the world's biggest news story<br />of the day and unfortunately it involved one of our leading athletes.<br /><br /><br /><br />My personal reaction was one of total shock and disbelief, followed by<br />deep sympathy and condolences for the family of Reeva Steenkamp, who<br />has tragically lost her life.<br /><br /><br /><br />As you can imagine the IPC was inundated with multiple media inquiries<br />on this story. When any athlete is involved in a high profile incident<br />it is often the governing body who is asked to comment and on Thursday<br />we were no different.<br /><br /><br /><br />For many of us at the IPC, Thursday was a hugely difficult and<br />traumatic day. Some of us have worked with Oscar for a number of years<br />now and have grown to know him personally. So to be faced with multiple<br />questions about the story was very testing for all involved. This is<br />why we issued the following statement to the world's media:<br /><br /><br /><br />"Following the news of the alleged shooting incident involving South<br />African athlete Oscar Pistorius this morning, the International<br />Paralympic Committee (IPC) will not be passing any comment on the case<br />at this time.<br /><br /><br /><br />"This is a police matter, with a formal investigation currently<br />underway. Therefore it would be inappropriate for the IPC to comment on<br />this incident until the official police process has concluded.<br /><br /><br /><br />"The IPC would like to offer its deepest sympathy and condolences to<br />all families involved in this case."<br /><br /><br /><br />We must all remember that this is a police case and we have to remain<br />impartial at all times. The South African law courts will decide<br />Oscar's fate over the coming months and only then will the full story<br />of what actually happened emerge.<br /><br /><br /><br />At the IPC however, we can decide what happens next in terms of the<br />Paralympic Movement.<br /><br /><br /><br />Over the coming days we will be conducting a number of interviews with<br />leading media organisations with the objective of showing to the world<br />that we boast a wealth of high profile athletes who can, and will,<br />continue to captivate the world's media attention and inspire and<br />excite the world helping to fulfil the IPC's vision. We also have a<br />number of high profile events coming up that will build on the momentum<br />of London 2012.<br /><br /><br /><br />London 2012 did not just inspire a generation, but created a whole host<br />of young world class medal winning athletes. In track and field for<br />example the likes of Britain's Jonnie Peacock, the Netherlands' Marlou<br />van Rhijn, Brazil's Alan Oliveira and Namibia's Johanna Benson to name<br />just a few, all have the ability to propel the Paralympic Movement to<br />new levels.<br /><br /><br /><br />The profile of our athletes has never been higher, nor has the demand<br />to watch Paralympic Sport. Research by LOCOG post London 2012 showed<br />the public's awareness of the leading athletes tripled during the Games.<br /><br /><br /><br />Together it is our job to continue building this profile regardless of<br />the outcome of this terrible case.<br /><br /><br /><br />I will finish by restating the fact that I wanted to make contact with<br />all of you and share the roller coaster of emotion that we have all<br />felt since early Thursday morning last week.<br /><br /><br /><br />Kind regards and greetings from La Molina, Spain where I am eagerly<br />awaiting the start of the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sir Philip Craven<br /><br /><br /><br />President<br /><br /><br /><br />International Paralympic Committee
