The world athletics governing body filmed his 400m race in England to try and determine the impact of his prostheses after drawing up, then all-but rescinding, a new regulation earlier this year that effectively banned him from the Olympics.

"We found there was enough evidence (from the film) to suggest that an athlete with prosthetics performed in a different way to an able-bodied athlete, hence the need for further testing," Davies said.

"This is new territory for us and we are trying to be extremely fair-minded and conscientious about making an objective decision."

Current IAAF rules ban the use of "technical aids" at the Olympics, but Ossur, the Greenland-based company that makes Oscar's transtibial artificial limbs, claims the Cheetahs only return 80 percent of the energy the user delivers to them, compared to the 240 percent rate-of-return experienced by able-bodied athletes.

"The Cheetah each one costs $15,000-18,000 is a passive device," Ossur spokesman Tabi King, said.

"It has no wheels, no motor, no electrical components. A 'prosthetic' device is designed to enable a person who is missing a limb to bear weight, walk, move and run to their fullest potential."

Since Oscar won the 200m sprint and took bronze in the 100m against single amputees at the Athens Paralympics in 2004, debate has swirled over the eligibility of the Cheetahs.

Detractors say they are longer than necessary, giving him a more generous stride, and that they are not subject to the build-up of lactic acid that hampers other runners.

Champions argue that, on the contrary, getting mobile requires much more energy, rain makes traction harder, and wind currents blow the razor-thin devices sideways.

The World Anti-Doping Agency did not respond to China Daily's request for comment.

On the Chinese side, Games organizers BOCOG are tightlipped on Oscar's case pending official notification from IOC but local athletes are supportive.

"I strongly hope that Oscar competes at the Olympics," said retired runner Seng Chentao, whose right leg was amputated below the knee and who raced against Pistorius at last year's Paralympic World Championships in the Netherlands.

"I think many runners are scared Oscar will pose a threat to them."

Given his personal bests so far, this is unlikely, according to his dad.

"He is the slowest starter," Henke said. "He is likely to qualify for the Olympics but we're not expecting any medals."

Whereas regular sprinters burst out of the starting blocks then decelerate, Pistorius builds up speed slowly, meaning his best shot is at the longer sprints.

The IAAF conceded several months ago that more tests were needed before it issued a ruling on Oscar's case and commissioned Peter Bruggemann, an independent German professor, to run a series of experiments on him from November 12-13 at the German Sports University of Cologne. It should receive Bruggemann's results by mid-December.

"No study has ever been done on the market regarding this specific problem, so this is extremely interesting," Bruggemann said by phone on the first day of testing.