Chambers to decide on Olympic ban appeal
Dwain Chambers is likely to decide in the next few days whether to challenge his lifetime Olympic suspension by taking legal action against the British Olympic Association's by-law.
Chambers will confess to anti-doping chiefs today that he was on an astonishing cocktail of seven banned drugs in 2003.
The British sprinter tested positive for the designer steroid THG in August of that year, and received a two-year ban.
But it has now been revealed he was also taking human growth hormone, the blood-boosting drug EPO, insulin, a testosterone/epitestosterone cream, a drug called modafinil used to promote alertness, and finally liothryonine, a synthetic form of thyroid hormone.
Chambers is meeting UK Sport’s anti-doping chief John Scott as part of his campaign to come clean, and hopes to gain a place on the British Olympic team.
He will provide Scott with an explosive letter written by his American drugs supplier Victor Conte detailing his actual drugs use.
Meanwhile he is meeting with the Leeds law firm Ford & Warren who believe there is every chance of their client overturning the BOA rule in the High Court.
The 30-year-old sprinter, who served a two-year suspension, is permanently banned from ever again competing at Olympic level.
Chambers, who returned to track action in 2006 but the following summer tried an unsuccessful American football career in Germany, has re-established himself as the country’s top sprinter since his latest comeback in January.
The Londoner sensationally claimed the 60metres silver medal at this year’s World Indoor Championships despite attempts by UK Athletics to make him wait another year before competing for his country at international level.
After that success Chambers confirmed he was likely to contest the BOA regulation in the High Court, but with his career threatened by a European promoters’ life ban on past drug cheats, looked for an alternative career.
That saw him undertake trials with rugby league club Castleford, but after a month spent learning the game from scratch with the Yorkshire club he was not offered a contract.
“We’re meeting for a chat to talk about about several things and whether or not to appeal, but the decision will be his,” said lawyer Nick Collins, who successfully handled the legal fight to allow him to represent the British team at the World Indoors in Valencia.
UKA performance director Dave Collins stressed the governing body are unaware of Chambers’ future intentions and said if the BOA ruling is overturned in the High Court there would be little to prevent him competing in Beijing.
“If he is reinstated then he is eligible against our clearly published criteria. If he meets these then we should consider him,” said Collins, although expressing his reluctance to speculate on such a course of action.
The possibility of Chambers finally taking on the BOA by-law – which many believes contravenes international regulations on the treatment of athletes returning from drugs suspensions – comes after reports Carl Myerscough is poised to take similar action.
“A letter for action has been sent (to the BOA) but a final decision has not been reached to bring proceedings,” said Collins who is also representing Britain’s shot put record holder.
The ’Blackpool Tower’, standing 6ft 10ins and weighing 24 stone, was given a two-year ban in 1999 after testing positive for a cocktail of anabolic steroids, and three years later supported by UKA appealed to the BOA but lost his plea of mitigation.
Myerscough, 28 and based in the United States, considered taking his case to the Court for Arbitration for Sport or the High Court, but knew if he lost he would face costs of around £250,000 (€314,000).
The BOA have confirmed receiving a letter from the 2002 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist's lawyers, but reiterated, just as they did two months ago when Chambers made public his possible intentions, they would “vigorously defend any case that comes to us.”
