Johannesburg: A bearded and much skinnier Oscar Pistorius was “overcome with emotion” as he pulled on his carbon fiber running blades for his first track training since the killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, his agent said.

With a short beard and a blue hooded Nike sports top, the lean-looking double-amputee Olympian did some light jogging at his first formal session in around five months last week. He then described his return to a regular track routine for the first time since he fatally shot Steenkamp at his home on February 14 as “bittersweet” to his agent, Peet van Zyl.

“It was a very emotional experience for him to put the blades back on, to walk back on to the track, get the smell of the track,” Van Zyl, who went to the track at the University of Pretoria with Pistorius, said on Friday.

“It was tough for him. He said to me it was like a bittersweet feeling and emotion for him to be back on the track.”

Pistorius’ return to training was seen in a brief video clip released by his family. In the footage, which is around two minutes long, the athlete is first sitting on a chair at his usual training track at the university pulling on his running blades. He then does some light jogging on the sunbathed track and, finally, wipes his face with both hands as he walks off the track, hinting at the emotion Van Zyl described.

Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder for Steenkamp’s Valentine’s Day shooting death. He denies murder and says he shot his girlfriend accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house.

Pistorius telephoned Van Zyl and his coach, Ampie Louw, about a week ago to say he was ready to train again.

“[He] said, ‘Guys I think I’m ready to resume training’,” Van Zyl said.

Van Zyl and Pistorius’ family, who also released a statement along with the footage, said Pistorius’ return to regular training was to help his own mental process ahead of a likely lengthy murder trial, and he was still not planning on competing any time in 2013.

“His focus at this time remains entirely on the court case,” the Pistorius family said.

“His family and those close to him have encouraged him to spend a few hours a week on the track to assist him in finding the necessary mental and emotional equilibrium to process his trauma and prepare for the trial.”