Fans of Oscar Pistorius, the history-making South African sprinter, are used to seeing the star exploding out of starting blocks and, a few seconds later, raising his arms aloft in a victory salute – focused, confident and, more often than not, jubilant.
But the pose struck by the 26-year-old double amputee on Friday could not have been more different as he swapped his athletics kit for a dark suit and appeared in court to hear state prosecutors charge that he had murdered his model girlfriend.
With shoulders sagging and head bowed, Mr Pistorius broke down several times during the hearing at Pretoria Magistrates Court, occasionally comforted with a pat on the back from his brother, who sat with their silent father a row behind the accused.