Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, ending a trial that has gripped South Africa and the world.

As judge Thokozile Masipa read out her decision on Pistorius' Sept 12 culpable homicide conviction, the 27-year-old, whose downfall has been likened to that of US football star O.J. Simpson, stood resolutely in the dock.

His only reaction was to wipe his eyes before two police officers led him down to the holding cells beneath the High Court in the heart of the South African capital. An armored police vehicle took him from the court building.