His disability led to a significant ability

South African amputee Oscar Pistorius has sparked a controversy: Is he techno-doping or leveling the playing field?

MANCHESTER, England -- As Oscar Pistorius of South Africa crouched in the starting blocks for the 200 meters, the small crowd turned its attention to the sprinter who calls himself the fastest man on no legs. He wants to be the first amputee runner to compete in the Olympics. And he is forcing international track officials to confront whether the technology of his prosthetics gives him an unfair advantage over sprinters using their natural legs.

His first strides last Sunday were choppy, a necessary accommodation to sprinting on a pair of j-shaped blades made of carbon fiber and known as Cheetahs. Pistorius was born without the fibula bone in his lower legs and with other defects in his feet. He had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. At 20, his coach says, he is like a five-speed engine with no second gear.

Pistorius also is a searing talent who has begun erasing the lines between abled and disabled, raising profound philosophical questions: What should an athlete look like? Where should limits be placed on technology to balance fair play with the right to compete? Would the nature of sport be altered if athletes using artificial limbs could at some point run faster or jump higher than the best athletes using their natural limbs?

Once at full speed last Sunday, Pistorius handily won the 100 and 200 meters here at the Paralympic World Cup, an international competition for disabled athletes. A cold, rainy afternoon tempered his performances, but his victories came decisively and kept him aimed toward the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, even though track and field's world governing body is seeking to bar him.

Since March, Pistorius has delivered startling record performances for disabled athletes at 100 meters (10.91 seconds), 200 meters (21.58 seconds) and 400 meters (46.34 seconds). Those times do not yet meet Olympic qualifying standards for men, but the Beijing Games are still 15 months away. Already, Pistorius is fast enough that his marks would have won gold medals in equivalent women's races at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Pistorius's time of 46.56 seconds in the 400 brought a stunning second-place finish in March against able-bodied runners at the South African national championships. This seemingly makes him a candidate for the Olympic 4x400-meter relay should South Africa qualify as one of the world's 16 fastest teams.

"I don't see myself as disabled," said the blond, spiky-haired former rugby and water polo player who declines even to park in spaces reserved for the disabled. "There's nothing I can't do that able-bodied athletes can do."

Still, the question persists: Do prosthetic legs simply level the playing field for Pistorius, compensating for his disability, or do they give him an inequitable edge via what some call techno-doping?

The answer is uncertain. Experts say only limited scientific studies have been conducted on the biomechanics of amputee runners, especially those missing both legs. And because Pistorius lost his legs as an infant, his speed cannot be compared with his speed on natural legs.

Track and field's world governing body, based in Monaco and known by its initials as the IAAF, recently has prohibited the use of technological aids such as springs and wheels, disqualifying Pistorius from events that it sanctions. A final ruling is expected in August.

The International Olympic Committee allows governing bodies to make their own eligibility rules, though it can intervene. Since 2004, for example, transgender athletes have been allowed to compete in the Olympics.