Can Britain forgive Dwain Chambers
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Will British Athletics ever accept a known cheat again?
Next month, the European Indoor Championships will begin in earnest and Europe’s athletic elite will grace the event, all going for gold.
This weekend, the British qualifying rounds are likely to be dominated by British sprinting’s fallen hero. Dwain Chambers may never recover from his tarnished reputation for knowingly taking a banned substance, but he will still be competing for his place in the British squad.
Six years ago, Chambers was the first athlete to test positive for an anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone, more commonly called THG.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) ruled that Chambers be given a 2 year ban from all competitions, which he has duly served, the question is now if he can rebuild his shattered career?
Having taken a brief hiatus from Athletics testing his skills in both Rugby and American Football, Chambers has returned to what he does best, running very fast down a straight piece of track for about 10 seconds.
There is no doubt that Chambers has something to prove, an answer to his critics that he deserves a second chance. However, the black cloud of his past is always going to loom over the athlete and that will be a difficult stigma to shake.
If the BOA had wanted to send out a really strong message to substance abusers, then Chambers should have been given a life-time ban, end of story. However, the ruling body has given its sentence, and Chambers has paid the price. Having done the crime and the time, it’s time for the British public to move on.
There is a grim determination about Chambers, he’s hungry to let his running do the talking; but will Britain have open ears to hear it?
