I was half expecting a ruling by the European court of wining lapdogs to allow him to disgrace us again just so as not to impinge upon his human rights.

I salute the decision in that it protects us all and sends out a very clear message that cheats will never prosper. That is an important message in this day and age. Just because he put his hands up once caught, it is no reason to allow him to represent our great nation once more. It should be regarded as an honour only bestowed upon the greatest sportsmen of the time. To have allowed him to run would have sullied all that the Olymics holds dear.

The right decision? Yes. The Olympics is, of course, a quite despicable brand itself. You might argue that it deserves Chambers.

But sport still provides enough compelling drama to fuel the dreams of young hopefuls. Many of those young hopefuls will be going to Beijing after years of hard work and dedication. They'll be going with a question mark over their heads: Is he clean? What's she on? It is cheats like Chambers that cause our cynicism.

And what of that hard work and dedication? When others have been slavishly reducing times and cracking personal bests Chambers has been, apparently, doing anything but. American football, rugby league, Hell's Kitchen - anything in fact to keep Dwain Chambers in the news and in the money.

Is he repentant? Who knows? But his comments that only a drug cheat can win the Olympics suggest that he's either not that sorry or, if he is clean now, he couldn't win anyway.

My opinion: the right decision, the sight of Chambers scurrying away from the cameras outside the High Court contained a certain irony that a man who seems to have a burning desire to always be in the limelight should be denied the biggest stage of all.

So our chances of gold in the 100m might be reduced. So what. For once, I think, Britain might be able to claim a moral victory here. And to those that say he's served his punishment: Dwain Chambers knew a lifetime Olympic ban was a consequence of taking drugs. It's part of his punishment. He knew that.

Another point: it's becoming ludicrous that so many sporting decisions are ending up in the law courts. End it now.

If you live in the USA I'm pretty confident that Dwain Chambers, the disgraced English sprinter will not have even registered on your sporting shame radar. However if you live in England or any part of Great Britain for that matter then today's news will be dominated by the High Court decision to say if Chambers can compete for team GB in the 100m (and possibly 4x100m relay - which Team GB currently hold the GOLD medal in !!!) in the Beijing Olympics.

Why am I rattling on about Chambers you may ask in an NFL blog? Well it is a little know fact that Chambers had a failed tryout for the San Francisco 49ers in 2004 - this after being given a two year global ban from competing in any athletics (track and field to you guys over the pond) meets.

Chambers also suited up in NFL Europa for the Hamburg Blue Devils - but unfortunately this did not turn out to be a Kurt Warner moment, and he did not get the call to the NFL.

I'm not sure what the likes of Champ Bailey or Charles Woodson would have made of Dwain hugging the sideline of an NFL field, guess we will never know.

One thing for sure Chambers is THE #1 ranked GB 100m sprinter after coming first in the GB Olympic trials last week, and I have a sneaky feeling that he will win his court battle and get to take on the likes of Tyson Gay and the Jamaican speed demons in a month or so.

It's an intersting prospect to think that we could have seen Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice and Dwain Chambers on an NFL field together - quite bizarre if you sit down and picture it in your minds eye.

I for one think Chambers should compete in the Olympics for team GB, he has served his time for taking illegal substances, and represents a chance (not a big one mind you) at a medal.

After all if he doesn't make it the UK media will be full of news about completely useless toffee nosed sports such as showjumping and yachting - who needs that ?

Chambers is by his own admission a cheat..... as if admitting it somehow makes it acceptable. He is going to court for the right to "represent " Great Britain in China at the Olympics. Personally I do not wish to be represented by a man like Chambers. He took drugs in order to gain an unfair advantage of legitimate sportsmen and yet once caught still lacks the moral code to accept his punishment of a lifetime ban. He should not be competing in athletics anyway, at any level. He should not be allowed to take part in the parents race at his kids school, let alone on the world stage.

If the court this week decide that cheats do actually prosper then an intricate part of Great Britain's moral fibre will have been irrevocably torn apart. What sort of an example will the law makers be showing the stab happy youth of today by letting this low life go to China? Is it really OK to cheat and con your way to glory and financial gain? Is it OK to dupe the public at every turn? If the court finds in Chambers favour then our only hope is that some deranged yob sets about the shameless waste of good air with a machete, thus saving us the embarrassment of seeing him wearing the union flag on the world stage. 

Dwain, take it like a man. You are cheating scum, we do not want you in our squad. Accept that and go crawl back into whatever hole you crawled out of. You  brought shame on our country once, and that cannot be allowed to happen again.

Saturday 16:13 6 miles 44:36

1 7:34 2 7:31 3 7:33 4 7:24 5 7:52 6 6:42  Average 7:26 min/miles

I arrived at the Crazyboy household at 4pm as requested. The plan was to run, and then be back in time for the Olympic trials on the BBC. We chose the hilly 6 mile route which takes in Pollock Park, and a shortish section of trail. Crazyboy was struggling a little after a tough week at work, a lack of sleep due to Baby Crazyboy and a lurking cold. I had to slow a couple of times to let him catch up with me, and he just had nothing left to follow me over the last mile. He was struggling with getting salt in his eyes. As he wears glasses, this is often a problem.  When we got back to the house his eyes were bloodshot and looked like something created by the special effects department for a horror movie! It was a lovely evening and I enjoyed the run, and as planned, we were back for the athletics.

Dwain Chambers won the 100m which now leaves his Olympic dream in the hands of the courts. I'm not sure how I feel about this. He cheated, he took steroids, but he's done his time. As long as testing is now showing him as clean, should he not be allowed to participate? That said, what about the guys that have trained for years drug free? should they not get priority? What if his previous steroid use has made him the athlete he is today? It's a tough call, and I can't decide how I feel about it. 

We stayed up too late and consumed too much lager that night. That said, Crazyboy fell asleep on the sofa,  spilling his drink down himself, and myself and Mrs Crazyboy were left watching car crash TV in the form of 'Ibiza Uncovered'. We were planning nasty things to do to Crazyboy that we could video and publish on 'You Tube'. My favourite option was to pick Crazyboy up, and put him in Baby Crazyboy's play pen!

This morning Crazyboy, true to form, was a lot worse for wear than I was, and running was not an option. To be fair, he did also sound very bunged up, his cold had surfaced. We watched 'Everybody Hates Chris' all morning on the Paramount channel, giving him a complex. Crazyboy is just an alias after all!

Once I had finally made it home, I forced myself into my running kit, and headed off for a shorter run than planned...

Sunday 15:02 5 miles 35:32

1 7:22 2 7:24 3 7:24 4 6:52 5 6:31  Average 7:06 min/miles

Not much to report from the run. I was feeling pretty awful at first, but keeping things steady I settled into the run. I was pretty pleased with my consistent pace over the first three miles, and not surprised by the faster fourth mile as it's pretty much downhill. The final mile split is really pleasing though as I felt really strong and could have pushed a lot harder, yet still clocked 6:31 for the mile. I plan to start my Chicago Marathon training as of tomorrow, one week later than planned. My legs were not ready last week, but I think that final mile gives me the go ahead, as long as my hip holds out.

So tomorrow night will see my return to speed work at the club. I don't know how I'll get on, time will tell.

I've just watched Jo Pavey in the 5000m Olympic Trials - she won it by a country mile. I love Jo Pavey. Not only is she an incredibly gutsy runner, but she is also training hard as a ventriloquist. She talks without opening her mouth!

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.631764&w=425&h=350&fv=allowFullScreen%3Dtrue%26initVideoId%3D1559628348%26servicesURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightcove.tv%26viewerSecureGatewayURL%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightcove.tv%26cdnURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fadmin.brightcove.com%26autoStart%3Dfalse]

See... you're never quite sure which person on camera is talking. Just picture a big green duck on her right arm, mouth opening in time to her comments... "I 'ate that duck!"

Carrying on from my earlier post, Dwain Chambers won his event and is now eligible for the Olympics if his ban is overturned on Wednesday.....no prizes for guessing what the media will be talking about this week!

Mark Cavendish won his second stage in the Tour De France and this has not been done for many a year gone by...congratulations!

England have enforced the follow on against the South African's, and at one stage had Mr. Panesar and Mr. Pieterson bowling at the top order...fantastic.

Roll on another tasty day of sport tomorrow with the MOTOGP. See my earlier post for my thoughts.

Drugs is an issue that has come to overshadow track and field athletics (amongst other sports of course), and shows little sign of disappearing. On either side of the Atlantic there are high profile stories in the news at the moment; while in the US Antonio Pettigrew (gold medalist in men's 4x400m in Sydney) has just admitted to using performance-enahncing drugs (let's call them PEDs), in the UK Dwain Chambers' quest to compete in Beijing is controversial news.

The situations, for those who don't know:

• Having completed at the highest level for many years, and won World Championship medals, in 2003 Chambers tested positive for the anabolic steroid THG
• As punishment Chambers was banned for 2 years by UK Athletics, banned from representing Great Britain at the Olympics, and stripped of all medals won since 2002 (whilst using PEDs)
• Having served the two year ban (and in the mean time tried his hand at American Football and Rugby League) Chambers is now competing again, and hopes to contest his life-time Olympic ban

Last week Chambers ran 100m in 10.26 at a competition in Greece, and thus qualified to compete at the British Olympic trials in Birmingham on 11 July. Should he run the qualifying time of 10.25 (distinctly likely judging by his speed in Greece) the only thing standing between Chambers and Beijing is the UK Athletics ban, which he plans to challenge in London's High Court.

If Adrian Warner is to be believed there is a good chance that Chambers will be successful.

This situation has polarised opinion, with pretty much every British athlete (past or present) asked, backing the ban and emphasising the importance of a zero-tolerance approach to PEDs. On the other hand (according to Warner) even"the former head of the World Anti-doping Agency (Wada) Dick Pound has often said that it's hard to legally justify punishing an athlete for the same offence twice."

Bob does have sympathy for Chambers, who has clearly been punished greatly for his mistake, and now believes that he could win an Olympic medal (though he might struggle to keep up with Usain Bolt). For any athlete, the frustration of not being able to prove themselves on the Olympic stage must be enormous - just look at what Oscar Pistorius has been going through. And his efforts to warn people away from making his mistakes should be applauded.

However, as the Olympics approach it looks only too likely that there may be more stories of athletes on PEDs beating athletes who have resisted the temptation to cheat. Will the presence of athletes like Chambers muddy these waters further...?

Großbritanien ist das einzige IOC-Mitgliedsland, das überführte Doping-Sünder auf Lebenszeit von den Olympischen Spielen verbannt. Der Auftritt bei Olympia bleibt den Athleten auch dann versagt, wenn sie, wie Dwain Chambers, die zweijährige Regelsperre verbüßen und von ihren jeweiligen Sportfachverbänden wieder zu Wettkämpfen zugelassen worden sind. Die Klausel ist nach Meinung einiger Experten fragwürdig, da sie überführte britische Sportler gegenüber Betrügern anderer Nationen benachteilige. Das Olympische Komitee Großbritanniens (BOA) hält jedoch weiter an dem als Abschreckung gedachten Mittel fest und ist bereit, dies auch bis auf Äußerste vor Gericht zu verteidigen.

Dwain Chambers, der nur unter Protest vom britischen Verband für die diesjährige Hallen-WM in Valencia nominiert wurde, könnte - anstatt den kostspieligen Weg über das Gericht zu wählen - Berufung beim britischen Olympiakomitee gegen den Bann einlegen. In der Vergangenheit haben dies seit 1992 dreißig Trainer und Sportler getan, 27 davon mit Erfolg. Man rechnet aber nicht damit, dass das strenge Olympiakomitee über den schnellsten Mann Großbritanniens Gnade walten läßt.

Eigentlich bleibt damit Dwain Chambers, der bei der Hallen-WM in Valencia den zweiten Platz erzielte, nur der Weg zum Gericht, sollte er eine Teilnahme bei den Olympischen Spielen in Peking anstreben. Chambers habe sich ein paar Tage Bedenkzeit erbeten, um sich über die Höhe der auf ihn zukommenden Prozeßkosten Klarheit zu verschaffen.

Quelle: Berliner Zeitung Online

The sprinter, making his second comeback to the Great Britain team after completing his drugs ban in 2005, said that he wants to keep running for his country and plans to set up an anti-doping campaign to teach children about the errors of his ways. “I want to start going into schools, use myself as an example and tell kids to not go down the road I took,” he said.

Elsewhere, the Evening Telegraph in Northamptonshire reports on a drama with ex-users:

FORMER heroin addicts and alcoholics are warning young people about the dangers of drink and drugs.

Actors from Teen Challenge, a national Christian organisation, performed hard-hitting musical The Journey at the Reachout Community Church in Havelock Street, Wellingborough, on Thursday night.

Although the musical dealt with the serious issue of substance abuse, children of all ages were invited to attend.

There's a lot of interest in the effectiveness of ex-users as part of drug education programmes at the moment, so if you have thoughts on this - or evidence you can share - I'd be grateful to receive it.

At the moment guidance to schools says:

Involving ex-users in drug education should be considered very carefully. Without sensitive handling they may arouse interest or glamorise drug use or describe experiences which young people may find it hard to relate to. In some instances they may unwittingly imply that their own drug use represents a ‘safe limit' that can be copied. If they are to be involved, this should be because they are skilled in facilitating pupil learning and not simply by virtue of their status as a former user.

There's some interesting comments in a post I did back in November last year on the appropriateness of ex-users in drug education here.

And given I'd not come across them before I did some further reading on Teen Challenge:

• Teen Challenge UK website.
• The Wikipedia page on Teen Challenge
• Investigating Teen Challenge - a blog that is hostile to the programme.

9.00, New Hero of Comedy, Channel 4
This week's featured comedian is Sacha Baron Cohen, who has gained notoriety with his outrageous characters Ali G and Borat. Friends and victims of his maverick interviewing style discuss the impact of his comic creations.

10.35, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, BBC1
Ex-EastEnder Michelle Ryan joins Rossy to talk about her starring role in the glossy remake of Bionic Woman, which begins next Tuesday on ITV2. The other guests are Goldie Hawn and chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, and there's music from 1960s Motown group The Temptations.

"'I've respect for every other athlete, but not him,' [third-placed Vinny] Mulvey insisted. 'My view is you get done for for drugs you should get done for life. You shouldn't be able to make a come-back. There's people who'll say "ah, water under the bridge" but it's my view that you can't trust someone like that.' "

It begs the question of course when is a ban over and why can't an athlete be accepted back into the fold after completing  a ban?  Judging by the controversy over the recent Dwain Chambers selection dilemma in Britain, while athletes may have a problem with it, legally, athletics associations can not prevent former drug cheats from being selected again.

The question now for Irish athletics is: when will they be able to accept Lombard back into the fold?

The decision to section Gazza under the Mental Health Act will, hopefully, see him finally get the professional support he needs.

It has been a very long time coming.

Yet it is only now, when this drastic course of action has been taken, that those who know Gazza, who played with him, managed him and called him a friend, seem to be ready to speak out concerning the problems and the demons that afflicted the ex-footballer for years.

These issues were, apparently, manifesting themselves whilst he was still playing. So why is it only now that the "football family" is uniting in its support, sympathy and understanding?

When it comes to the often serious mental health pressures its stars face, both during their illustrious careers and after they are forced to call it a day, most of our high-profile professional sports have a pretty dire track record of dealing with such issues.

Indeed, they are more likely to ignore such pressures, laugh them off, display crass ignorance, or a combination of all three.

Worst of all there is a reluctance to discuss such issues openly and maturely. Sport in general has a tendency to tip-toe inelegantly around the subject of its stars' mental health and the support they are provided with whilst they perform with distinction and once their glittering career comes to an end.

With so much comment, speculation and opinion expressed on the return of Dwain Chambers to international athletics after he served a drugs ban, there was little if any mention of the personal pressures the athlete must be facing at present. The world and his wife is allowed to express a judgement on whether the sprinter should "morally" be allowed to continue competing at the highest level, but has anyone asked the man himself how he's coping with such attention and vitriol that is being heaped upon him?

The prime example, before Gazza's troubles, was the on-going mental health problems experienced by English cricketer Marcus Trescothick and the way no-one - apart from the player himself - seemed ready, willing or able to discuss the issues he was dealing with. Indeed, the way the English cricket authorities and the media in general dealt with the problems experienced by Andrew Flintoff during the Cricket World Cup suggests they had learned absolutely nothing from their dismal handling of Trescothick's plight.

Paul Gascoigne was undoubtedly the most gifted English footballer of his generation - a classic example of a football-mad lad from an ordinary background who made the big time.

On his way up the slippery slope of football superstardom he made lots of "friends", made vast amounts of money and lived the sort of closeted and pampered lifestyle that is part of the territory - he was a very rich boy in a big luxurious bubble. Yet once his fitness levels began to drop, his talent became compromised and his abilities called into question, the "friends" soon departed and that bubble burst.

Effectively alone in the real world for the first time, Gazza was bound to struggle and few seemed prepared to help and more inclined to laugh along with the player once affectionately described as "a clown" by an English manager. He was encouraged to spiral out of control rather than seek help, which makes some of the sympathetic noises now being made seem more than a little hypocritical.

At least we appear to have moved on from the shameful treatment meted out to Frank Bruno by The Sun after the ex-boxer suffered a serious breakdown, with the tabloid now doing its best to show its caring side alongside the lurid details of Gazza's descent. Although it is fair to say we haven't moved on too far, given the choice of photograph used by The Daily Star to accompany its Gazza story.

With many professional sports there appears to be a belief that our top stars get rewarded handsomely enough for their particular talent so they should simply live with all the consequences. That is a rather simplistic and ignorant attitude.

Professional sports people make huge sacrifices and they are, by and large, happy enough to accept the rewards, the plaudits, the adulation that we give them in return.

But should sacrificing their mental health be part of the bargain?

The depressing fact is that Paul Gascoigne is the latest to join an ever-lengthening list of professional athletes who have struggled with serious mental health problems and got little in the way of support.

It is a list that will continue to grow until sport in general faces up to one of its biggest taboo subjects - mental health.

The people on the course who amazed, left me speechless, humbled, exasperated occasioanlly and generally were themselves and just amazing as each person is.

So life goes on and its Tuesday night and those people I spent the week with have now gone onto their daily lives and taking with them the new opportunities I hope they feel they have. I saw them utilise and and change others, I watched as they made changes in others during the course without really realising the enormity of what they had done.

I dont think you ever quite tell a group how priveleged you felt working with them. Most take it with a pinch of salt, assuming that you say that to all the groups. However, I dont. Some group I am impressed with but some I feel were more than just a group I was teaching NLP, it somehow gave me something back in reuturn and those people made changes in their trainer, not just themselves.

So, here we are, Tuesday. Today was the first step to starting the road to having the first course in Tonbridge in September and October and beginning the process of getting it out there. Its the first time we have run a course there and have the most wonderful venue which NOBODY else can get!

The book, that book which I have been sat on by publisher is now one chapter away from winging its way to print via editors and legal people and the new weight loss industry which no doubt the industry will hate as its based on taking over your own diet and how to do it. All the secrets the industry doesnt want you to have as it will mean you wont need to buy any more pills, potions or get slim quick fads. Hahahhahaahahaahhahahhha! I already had "a word" from a certain weight loss institution voicing its "concern" about the secrets I was giving away which made me even more certain I was doing the right thing.

And then we had the Dwain Chambers affair. From the extensive work I do in mental coaching in sportand performance optimisation I had a call from the Daily Telegraph. Could I make a comment about the Dwain Chambers affair? I certainly could, I told them that he would have to be clean now as he would be covered in drug testers from UK Sport 24 hrs a day and did she realise the work he would have had to put in to get the performance level back and beyond where it was when he WAS using steriods? I suspected as I wasnt Chambers bashing during the interview that it might not be what she wanted to hear and I was right. Nothing appeared in the paper so another rounded opinion hits the dust. If you want to read the article about Dwain Chambers and the performance work and mental coaching he would have had to have done then go to www.thezone.webeden.co.uk/comingback and take a look.

Tomorrow brings another day of working with therapy clients in London and Slough and then 2 days of performance optimisation with pro athlete in London taking me up to Saturday and the training I have to be able to squeeze in of my own in the meantime.

So, here goes another week of planning, working with amazing new sports talent and seeing changes in clients I hope will be permanent and spectacular.

Speak soon and be well.

Emma x 

SHEFFIELD: British athletics was plunged into fresh controversy when Dwain Chambers, competing after a doping ban, powered to victory in the 60m in a national trial here on Sunday. 

Chambers, 29, won with a season's best time of 6.55, a result which should qualify him for a place in next month's World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. 

True grit: Dwain Chambers reacts after winning the men’s 60m final during the national trials on Sunday. – AFP

British athletics' governing body, United Kingdom Athletics (UKA), had wanted to stop Chambers running because he has not been in their drugs testing programme since 2006. 

UKA's selection policy means they are supposed to pick the race winner to represent Britain at the March 7-9 world indoors, but there is a loophole which could allow them not to pick an athlete in exceptional circumstances. 

Chambers served a two-year ban, completed in 2006, after testing positive for tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), and UKA said they had tried to stop him on the grounds he had retired to take up a career in American football. 

But Chambers has insisted this was not the case and had kept UKA informed of his whereabouts since 2006. 

“Hopefully I will have done enough to get to the worlds,” Chambers told the BBC after his victory. “I'd like to believe my performance warrants that and I just hope the selectors do the right thing.” 

The Londoner added: “Today has been worth everything I've been through; and it's not over yet as my goal is to win the World Indoors.” 

Chambers might yet be denied a place in the British team if UKA opt to invoke the “exceptional circumstances” clause in their regulations. 

UKA may decide that, in an Olympic year, selecting Chambers for an international event in the lead-up to the Games would not be in the best interests of British athletics as a whole. 

UKA chief executive Niels de Vos, who has spoken out against Chambers ever competing again for Britain, said the issue was now a matter for the selectors, who are expected to announce their team for Valencia today. 

“I'm not on the selection panel but he (Chambers) will be treated the same as any other athlete who has raced at these events,” de Vos said. – AFP 

It is of course controversial, and UK Athletics chief Niels de Vos (I will have to try and remain impartial here, as de Vos was chief executive of Sale Sharks and Stockport County under the banner of Cheshire Sports, the sporting arm of multi-millionaire Brian Kennedy. Their decision making severely impacted on the way County was run and arguably endangered the club. Anyway...) was all but demanding the selection committee to activate a loophole in the selection process to avoid selecting him.

The loophole, which allows the selection committee to choice another athlete in "exceptional circumstances" mainly relating to performance, value judgements or stone-cold belief, was last used in 1983 when a struggling Coe managed to usurp Peter Elliott, who initially won 1500m Olympic trial, only to have his place given to the Olympic champion Coe.

In the end, it was a decision that paid off for Great Britain and for Coe; but it impacted on Elliott who, while having a place for the 800m, had to go through an unfamiliar routine of two qualifying races prior to the final. In the end, he succumbed to injury and was unable to run for gold.

Chambers' selection was begrudging. The statement released by the selection committee is far from complimentary:

"Taking him to the World Indoors deprives young, upwardly mobile committed athletes of this key development opportunity.

"Our World Class Performance Programme is focused on achievement at Olympic and World level. On this basis, it is extremely frustrating to leave young athletes at home; eligible for Beijing, in possession of the qualifying standard and committed to ongoing participation in a drug-free sport.

In contrast, we have to take an individual whose sudden return, especially when considered against his previous actions and comments, suggests that he may be using the whole process for his own ends.

"Unfortunately, the committee felt that the selection criteria pertaining to the winner of the trials, coupled with the manner of Dwain's performance, left them no room to take any other decision.

"We wish all the selected athletes well at the event, but will certainly explore ways in which future selections can be made to match the true 'spirit' of our sport."

I don't think Chambers will need any more inspiration after reading that. Chambers beat the rest of the field, and therefore he has the right to go -- former drugs cheat or not. No other athlete was good enough, and that's the end of the matter. He has carried out his sentence, has realised that he was a product of corruption and not a cause, and can do nothing else except, in his words, "let the legs do the talking."

And I think that's another reason for the animosity to Chambers. He has just walked back into the sport after flirting with American Football, and beat the rest of the field who train day in, day out.

He exposed the rest of the athletes as not being good enough, and not matching his ability minus chemical assistance. In essence, he showed up the other athletes royally, and they (UK Athletics, Steve Cram et.al) do not like it. Indeed, it was refreshing to hear 2nd place Simeon Williamson supporting Chambers.

Chambers obviously is good enough, and it's time he proved it without science's help.

David.

Chambers is already ruled out of the Beijing Olympics because he has picked up a lifetime ban from the British Olympic Association, but has completed his 2-year suspension from UK athletics and his 60m time at last weekend's trials for the Valencia event entitles him to automatic qualification.

I sympathise entirely with de Vos's repugnance at the thought of including a drugs cheat in the British team for Valencia. The only thing more repugnant is the arrogance of an athletics supremo who seeks to impose ex-gratia bans at his personal whim.

Rules is rules. If you don't like them, do your best to change them. But people in positions of responsibility should not be riding rough-shod over them.

Chambers was guilty of an offence, handed down a punishment and served it. He has not been caught committing any further offences so there is no justification for a further punishment. De Vos may happen to think the original 2 year ban was too lenient, and many would agree with him, but that is irrelevant. It is not his call. The ban imposed was the ban imposed, and it is too late to go back and change it.

Listen up, de Vos. Abiding by the rules is central to fairness in all sports. That applies to disciplinary matters just as much as it does to competition. Under the rules, Chambers is eligible to compete and has met the qualifying requirements. Your vendetta against Chambers brings into question your own respect for the rules that govern sport, and undermines your authority.

Let it go. Bite your lip and let Chambers compete, while he stays clean, until his standards drop. Meantime if you want to push for tougher sentences against future drug offences I and millions of others really couldn't argue with you.

It’s hard to like Chambers. A convicted cheat, he is now trying to tell people that he can be seen as a role model for what can happen when you turn over a new leaf. And yet only last year he told the BBC: “Some people take chances, some don't, and I was willing to take that chance. I was under the assumption that I wouldn't get caught."

What’s clear is that he was prepared to cheat, got caught, and now he's back. He took a gamble and his return sends a clear message. If you can get away with it, it’s worth the risk; if you get caught, the punishment is light.

As long as the likes of Chambers are prepared to take drugs and cheat fellow athletes, sponsors and the public, then athletics will continue to be tarnished. His presence is an insult, and it makes it hard for anyone to take the moral high ground when anyone else is caught.

And what’s more, how do we know he is clean now? He was willing to take a chance before. Who says he won’t take it again?