Pistorius lost Nike, Oakley and Mugler within a week of his arrest

Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter known as the 'Blade Runner', had become one of sport's most marketable figures, with a Nike deal thought to be worth about $2m a year and further contracts with BT, Thierry Mugler, Oakley and prosthetics maker Ossur. On 14 February 2013 police arrested him at his home in Pretoria on a murder charge over the death of Reeva Steenkamp; he was due in court the next day.

The sponsor exodus began before any verdict. On 18 February Nike said it had no plans to use him in future campaigns and pulled an internet advertisement, and Oakley announced it was suspending its contract with him with immediate effect. South African pay-TV channel M-Net pulled its campaign featuring him, tweeting it was removing 'our entire Oscar campaign featuring Oscar Pistorius with immediate effect'; Thierry Mugler withdrew all campaigns featuring him on 20 February; and on 21 February Nike suspended its contract with him, saying he 'should be afforded due process'.

The BBC's account of the week put a number on the loss: his deals with Nike, BT, Thierry Mugler, Oakley and Ossur were thought to have earned him several million pounds. BT declined to comment and Ossur called any decision on his future 'highly premature' — the two partners that did not move were the ones left holding the question.