OSCAR PISTORIUS, the South African Paralympic sprinter dubbed the “fastest man on no legs”, has been given the go-ahead to compete against able-bodied athletes. In an extraordinary twist to a story that seemed to have been closed when the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced it could not happen, a change of mind now opens up the possibility of Pistorius one day appearing at an Olympic Games.

The 20-year-old was born without fibulae in both legs because of a congenital condition and when he was 11 months, he had amputations below the knees. But he has developed into one of the biggest stars in the Paralympics, winning a 200m gold in Athens using prosthetic legs.

The IAAF, the sport’s international governing body, are going to work with Pistorius on tests to see if prosthetics provide an unfair advantage but until then he can run in able-bodied races.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said: “We need to establish the facts and we want to do this together. We have nothing against disabled athletes, on the contrary, but we need to be fair.”

Pistorius, also known as “Blade Runner” because of the curved shape of his prosethics, said: “I want to go forward and I can’t if I have to compete only at a local level. The way to go forward is to run against people faster than me.”