Olympics: Drug cheats should be banned for life - Darren Campbell

ATHLETES rarely feel much sympathy for selectors, those people who can make or break their careers by naming them in a team or leaving them out. But when it comes to the UK Athletics selectors who chose the British track-and-field team for the Olympics, Darren Campbell appreciates just how difficult their task was.

Campbell, a gold medallist in the sprint relay at the Athens Games of 2004, retired from athletics six years ago, since when he has developed his own sports nutrition firm, worked extensively in the media, and is now an Olympic ambassador for TV channel ESPN Classic. His interest in his sport is as keen as ever, and so is his opposition to the inclusion in the Olympics of those who have served doping bans.

Now 38, Campbell was stripped of two major relay medals when team-mate Dwain Chambers tested positive for banned substances. He boycotted his team’s lap of honour after Chambers returned from a ban, and still regrets the fact that the British Olympic Association recently lost a court case and was forced to repeal its lifetime ban.

So when Chambers was named in the team this week, Campbell was aware of how difficult that choice could have been for the selectors. He does not blame them for the choice they made, nor does he wish to single out Chambers for criticism: he simply fears for the credibility of the sport he loves.

“It’s life, isn’t it?,” he said of that choice. “At a certain point the people who run the sport have to make tough decisions. I still believe that a lifetime ban from the Olympics is right in some circumstances. Take [American sprinter] Justin Gatlin. He’s back now, and he has committed two offences. What message does it give out about our sport if he wins a medal at the Olympics?

“I’ve nothing personal against Dwain, and I don’t feel animosity towards him. Me and Dwain have spoken about it. It’s about the sport. It’s about people asking ‘Is he on drugs?’ when someone comes first in a race, and it can’t be like that. When people watch the 100 metres, they want to know who the fastest man in the world is. And they want to know if it’s real.”

And, he continued, athletes do too, especially in the case of relay squads. “I never ran for Great Britain thinking my team-mates were on drugs. But imagine how you would feel if, in the Olympic relay final, you won gold, then had it taken away two days later because one of your team-mates had tested positive for drugs.”

The era in which Campbell, Chambers and team-mates were regular contenders in the sprint relay at major competitions seems a long way off now, and the current squad look more capable of dropping the baton than picking up medals. The reason for that decline may be complex, but at its heart, according to Campbell, is a failure to build on the good times.

“I’m not sure if it’s just one simple problem. For me the issue is a lack of continuity from the team that won gold in Athens in 2004, and which had the same core of individuals from 1999, when we took silver at the world championships in Seville. I think the only person who is still involved from that time is one of the biomechanical staff.

“Nobody else is still there, so it was almost like starting again for everyone. And Dwain has only just come back into the team, so he’s not been able to practice regularly with them all yet. And when there is no stability in the squad, that can cause problems.”

Despite such issues, Campbell is still an optimist, and has been encouraged by the emergence of Adam Gemili, the 18-year-old who was second to Chambers at the Aviva Trials. He said: “A lot of our youngsters have shown promise then failed to step up to the top level, but if anyone is going to achieve anything, it’s Adam. He has had a very quick apprenticeship – he’s only been in the sport for about 18 months – and I’m more than pleased with his temperament and his technique. But we have to be patient with him, because he’s still learning a lot with every race.

“He’s got a chance of making the final in London. But the thing is, not until you step on to the track at the Olympic Games do you fully understand what pressure is all about. At the 2000 Games in Sydney, I was petrified: I’d dreamed all my life about running at the Olympics and now here I was. Nothing can prepare you for that.”

• Darren Campbell is an Olympic Ambassador for ESPN Classic, which will broadcast a series of programmes dedicated to the greatest stories, moments and achievements in Olympic history. The programming begins on 9 July and runs every day between 8pm – 10pm until 26 July. www.espnclassic.com.