Oscar Pistorius has run from the Paralympics to the Olympics and will find himself most likely running in a South African penitentiary for at least 10 months of a five-year sentence for killing Reeva Steenkamp in a locked toilet.
His journey from disabled child to world-class athlete pushing the boundaries for athletes with disabilities, to South Africa's poster boy and eventually to Valentine's Day killer has shown the peaks and troughs of the human spirit's capabilities.
Those seeking retribution will have no sympathy for Pistorius, who will get to feel what it is like to be locked in a confined space without any escape while feeling threatened.
For a man who is paranoid and apparently likes to run fast, drive fast and handle guns, jail will be his worst nightmare.
Perhaps the biggest punishment for Pistorius will be that he is not eligible to compete in sports during the sentence, and his anxiety levels will be tested in a place where a high profile and disabilities make him an easy target.
I can't help but wonder what the outcome of his court case and sentence would have been had he committed his crime as an American athlete on American soil, where athletes who have committed horrendous crimes in some cases literally get away with murder.
The most publicised was NFL superstar OJ Simpson, who stood trial for the double murder in 1995 of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman but was later acquitted.
Other athletes who made bad decisions in the heat of the moment or while intoxicated also seemed to get nothing but a slap on the hand.
Leonard Little, a Rams linebacker who killed Susan Gutweiler when driving while intoxicated after celebrating his 24th birthday, was sentenced to 90 days in a work house and 1000 hours of community service.
There are some crimes that are unforgivable irrespective of whether you're an elite athlete or local hero.
Rae Carruth, a former Carolina Panthers wide receiver, received 18 to 24 years for arranging to have his pregnant 24-year-old girlfriend, Cherica Adams, shot because he didn't want to pay child support.
There are many more that are too tragic and disturbing to include here.
Why has the Oscar Pistorius saga gained so much publicity? Is it the combination of his disability, Reeva's beauty, their celebrity status as a couple and the unusual circumstances that led to her death?
Sadly, the attention this tragic event has garnered is more indicative of our own fascinations and sense of what is out of the ordinary.
Only last month, a former professional rugby player in South Africa, Joseph Ntshongwana, was convicted on four counts of murder with an axe, two counts of attempted murder, one of assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm, one of kidnapping and one of rape.
And yet, there is no media frenzy around this former athlete or the massacre he carried out.
Unfortunately, for Ntshongwana's victims, a black person killing other black people is not newsworthy enough, and even his status as a former professional rugby player can't absolve him of his sins.
Yes, Pistorius' journey so far has been a tragic one, but let's keep it relative.
He may have to watch his back for 10 months and endure the boredom of house arrest for the rest of his sentence, and he may not get to be a blade runner ever again, but at least he is still alive.
