Chambers likely to earn Games nod

Published on 26/06/2012 00:00

DWAIN Chambers seems certain to be selected for the British team at the Olympics after being told he does not need to chase the ‘A’ qualifying time in this week’s European Championships.

Chambers won the 100m at the weekend’s Olympic trials in Birmingham, but was unable to achieve the ‘A’ standard of 10.18 seconds to secure automatic qualification for London.

The 34-year-old was therefore expected to compete in the individual 100m in Helsinki this week to get the time before Sunday’s deadline, but was yesterday only named in the 4x100m relay team when UK Athletics cut their squad from 109 to 82 athletes.

Teenager Adam Gemili is the only sprinter to be guaranteed a place in the 100m in London after finishing second behind Chambers at the Alexander Stadium after running 10.08secs in Germany earlier this month. The other two places now look likely to be handed to Chambers and James Dasaolu – the only other man to have the ‘A’standard.

Chambers had previously been banned from the Olympics under the British Olympic Association’s bylaw which barred drugs cheats for life, but that bylaw was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Although Chambers does not possess the “current” A standard, UKA head coach Charles van Commenee referred to him having 22 other A standards when attempting to explain the selection policy before the trials.