Chambers Made To Wait For Court Ruling

The High Court ruling on whether sprinter Dwain Chambers will be able to compete in this summer’s Beijing Olympics will be announced next week.

Chambers launched an appeal against the British Olympic Association’s ban on him competing in any future Games under the governing body’s by-law which bans athletes who have failed drug tests from the Olympics unless there are mitigating circumstances.

And while the High Court ruled that a full hearing would not take place until next year, it will hear an injunction from Chambers’ lawyers next Wednesday.

If successful, he will be permitted to compete in Beijing provided he comes through this weekend’s Olympic trials.

Chambers will now hope to finish first or second in the Birmingham trials, which start on Friday, thus ensuring his place in the British team should his appeal be successful.

The BOA is committed to naming its team for Beijing before 20th July but has continually stood by its by-law – a stance that has received the backing of a number of athletes most noticeably Olympic gold medalists Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes.

However the BOA rule – in place for 16 years – is at odds with the position of track and field governing body the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which says athletes found guilty of doping can return to all competitions once they have served their bans.

There have been successful appeals against the lifetime ban – the last being 400m world champion Christine Ohuruogu’s – but nobody has challenged the actual legality of the rule in the courts.