Talk:Oscar Pistorius/Archive 4

Primary school

Hi, Robertson-Glasgow. You recently edited "Oscar Pistorius" to add that he attended Constantia Kloof Primary School. Do you have a reference to a published source for this? Otherwise, the information may have to be removed for being unreferenced, which would be a pity. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:29, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

While I do not have any reference for Oscar's attending CKPS, I know for a fact that he did, because I went there with him. His recollections, alas, are not as fond as mine: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/04/27/sophil27.xml. Please respond back at my talk page. Cheers, Robertson-Glasgow 00:54, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I suspected that was the case. Unfortunately, the fact that you went to school with him is not independently verifiable. Can you cite a source in another language (e.g., Afrikaans) , or a printed source? An old school annual or magazine is better than nothing. Also, any chance of an old photograph of Pistorius as a child that you could license to Wikipedia? :-) — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 01:12, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

I should be able to find something when I return home in about three weeks. For the time being, let us leave the relevant information marked with . Robertson-Glasgow (talk) 02:03, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Any luck finding a reference? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 23:50, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes there is a reference. His book, called Blade Runner, published in 2009 by Virgin Books in Great Britain, author: Oscar Pistorius and translator: Rebecca Servadio-Kenan, on page 33. Do not know the correct referencing method for auto-biographical books, please cite this in the article and add the book to the references. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Christiaanjmeyer (talk • contribs) 17:26, 24 October 2010 (UTC)

If you can tell us the book's ISBN number we can insert a proper book cite. Roger (talk) 19:11, 24 October 2010 (UTC)

 Done (the book appears in the "Books" subsection). — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 07:49, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

About the "Personal life" section

This section currently consists of a few "factiods" about his "Italian connection". It is nowhere near what a personal life section should be. Roger (talk) 16:19, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Juan Antonio Samaranch IOC Disabled Athlete Award

This concerns the information recently added to the article about Pistorius receiving the Juan Antonio Samaranch IOC Disabled Athlete Award in 2008, which was removed by Ckatz as linkspam and possibly added by a person in conflict of interest. I have reverted the removal since the award seems like a genuine one (see [1] and [2], for instance). Feel free to discuss the matter further here. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 18:09, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

It has been removed because we have not found third-party material to establish the notability of the award. The only reason it appeared at all in the dozens of articles it was spammed to was because of a single-purpose editor with probable connection to the organization. Given the wide range of articles involved, and the years the award has been in existence, it is worth noting that no other editor has seen fit to include it in those articles. --Ckatz^chat_spy 21:58, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

I wasn't the editor who originally inserted the information, but assuming good faith on his or her part for the moment, don't the websites I found suggest that the award is a legitimate one? It appears to be recognized by the IOC and the IPC. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 05:21, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

The editor who placed it is a single-purpose editor, and the vast majority of the posts were cookie-cutter text about the award with prominent mentions of the USSA. However, in this case, you seem to have found some useful references. I would suggest that if the mention of the award returns, it should focus on the recipient and that Rogge gave it away, avoiding mentions of the USSA. Thoughts? --Ckatz^chat_spy 06:19, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

OK, let me see if I can find anything specific concerning Pistorius apart from the USSA's website. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 06:48, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

If we accept that the award does in fact exist and it was given to Pistorius (WP:AGF), I don't see why the motives of the contributing editor or the notability of the organisation conferring the award really matters. If Pistorius has recieved a trophy/medal/certificate as a symbol of this award then he has it and it can be mentioned. The fact that someone of the stature of Samaranch's name is involved with the award must carry some weight. I have no prior knowlege of, or an opinion about, the organisation involved and have no personal interest in this matter. I am merely a fan of Pistorius (and one of the initiators of WikiProject Disability) Roger (talk) 11:50, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

I was unable to find any websites (apart from the one which was inserted into the article previously) that specifically states that Pistorius was conferred the award. However, that is not to say that there are no offline sources confirming this information. Ckatz, perhaps your concern is that the award is not a genuine one, and that Pistorius may not even know that he has been awarded it. However, I tend to agree with Dodger67 that the fact the award is mentioned on the IOC and IPC websites suggests that it is genuine. It is also mentioned on the French website of Ossur, the company that produces Pistorius's prostheses, in connection with another disabled athlete, Marlon Shirley. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 12:54, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

If I understand User:Jacklee correctly, what we are now looking for is some evidence that Pistorius knows that he has been given this award - either by being present in person or through a representative at the occasion when it was awarded or else an independent source stating that he has this award. Roger (talk) 17:21, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

That would be ideal, but I am inclined towards the view that since the circumstantial evidence suggests the award is genuine (it's named after Juan Antonio Samaranch and the IOC, which suggests endorsement on their part, and appears on the IOC and IPC websites) there is no harm in allowing the information to remain in the article even if we cannot find another (online) source mentioning that Pistorius received the award. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 17:55, 8 July 2010 (UTC)