PRETORIA, South Africa — The trial of double-amputee Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius on charges of murdering his girlfriend will begin on March 3, 2014, a judge ruled Monday.

Judge Desmond Nair, in coordination with defense lawyers and the prosecution, set the trial to run through March 20 next year in Pretoria.

Pistorius, who shed tears as he prayed with his brother, Carl, and sister, Aimee, while awaiting the start of the hearing, was handed the eight-page indictment sheet during the brief court session.

The athlete stands accused of premeditated murder and the illegal possession of ammunition.

“The accused did unlawfully and intentionally kill a person, to wit, Reeva Steenkamp,” according to the formal charge. The girlfriend died at the scene from “multiple gunshot wounds.”

Pistorius, 26, is accused of using his 9mm gun to shoot four rounds at Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, through a locked bathroom door at his upmarket home in Pretoria on Feb. 14.

The athlete admits he shot her but says he mistook her for an intruder.

Known as Blade Runner for his carbon fiber prosthetics, Pistorius became the first double-amputee to compete in the regular Olympic Games in London last year, and carried the South African flag at the closing ceremony.