Dwain Chambers Lets Himself Down Once Again

Much has been said about Dwain Chambers over the last few years. There are those who believe the sprinter has served his sentence, learned from his misdemeanours, and deserves another chance.

He is the best sprinter Britain has to offer when drug-free, after all. On the contrary, there are those who refuse to back the sprinter, saying there is no room in athletics for a convicted drugs cheat.

The only way to beat drugs cheats is to have tough, consistent rules that leave athletes in no doubt what will happen if they break the rules. And that’s exactly what Chambers did.

When testing positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003, there can be no denying he let himself, his fellow athletes, and his country down.

It was up to Chambers to rebuild those bridges; to repay the faith in those who he had let down. But now, judging by his latest comments, those bridges look to be well and truly burnt.

While there can be no doubting the 31 year old’s talent, he is the equal fastest man in the world this year after all, his PR skills since returning to the track have left a lot to be desired.

First came denial, with the sprinter vigorously denying all the charges against him until the two year ban was actually handed out. His lack of honesty did him no favours.

And even when he finally admitted to his indiscretions, Chambers covered himself in no glory whatsoever.

Appearing on BBC’s Inside Sport two years ago, he showed little remorse for his actions, instead focusing on the advantages that drugs can give an athlete over those who remained clean. When asked whether a clean athlete was likely to beat one using drugs in an Olympic final, Chambers replied: "It's possible, but the person that's taken drugs has to be having a real bad day. That's what I believe."

He was condemned for his comments by the press, and well respected figures in athletics such as Sebastian Coe and Sir Steven Redgrave also showed their disdain. The admission that drug taking in athletics is rife, though perhaps true, antagonized many leaders in athletics.

And now, it appears he is at it again.

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