Oscar Pistorius, the South African double amputee dubbed “the fastest man on no legs”, has vowed to fight a decision barring him from competing at the Beijing Olympics next summer.

A report commissioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and released yesterday concluded that the carbon-fibre Cheetah Flex-Foot prosthetics used by the 21-year-old athlete gave him a significant advantage over able-bodied runners.

Pistorius, known as “Blade Runner” for his achievements with his state-of-the-art false limbs, was unavailable for comment. Three days ago, after he was informed of the decision, a downcast Pistorius, who won gold and bronze at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, denied that the sickle-like blades gave him “an unfair advantage”.

Visions of athletes using mechanical aids to improve performances prompted the IAAF to amend its rules last year. It banned technical devices incorporating “springs, wheels or any other element” that would give athletes an advantage over competitors.

Pistorius, who wanted to realise a lifelong ambition of competing against able-bodied athletes, decided to test the new regulation. Last July he ran in the 400-metre B race at the Golden Gala in Rome and finished second.

A study for the IAAF by Peter Bruggeman, at the German Sport University in Cologne, compared Pistorius with five able-bodied athletes of similar ability. “Pistorius was able to run with his prosthetic blades at the same speed as the able-bodied sprinters with about 25 per cent less energy expenditure,” the report concluded. It said that the returned energy from the prosthetic blades was close to three times higher than that of the ankle joint. “It is evident that an athlete using the Cheetah prosthetic is able to run at the same speed as able-bodied athletes with lower energy consumption,” the report added. The findings have been unanimously endorsed by the IAAF ruling council, which said that Pistorius should not be allowed to run in Beijing.

Last week Pistorius, whose legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because he was born without fibulae, condemned the report as “premature and highly subjective” and pledged to continue fighting to realise his dream.

An IAAF official said that the governing body was concerned about the implications of prosthetic aids. “It’s for the future,” he said. “It’s about what might happen in 20 or 30 years.”

Peet van Zyl, Pistorius’s manager, said that his appeal would be based on advice from experts in the United States who had told them that the report “did not take enough variables into consideration”.

Pistorius is a hero to many in sports-mad South Africa. In disabled athletics he is a world record-holder for the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres. Last year he won a silver medal in the 400 metres competing against able-bodied runners at the South African Championships. His personal best of 46.34 seconds would have won gold at every Olympic Games before 1932.