The saga of Dwain Chambers rolls on and if the watching public thought that it would be all over after 6.56sec in Sheffield today, they could not be more wrong.
Chambers remains in a no-win position however much he says he is clean because he will always be tainted with being a self-confessed drugs cheat. So, when he now questions why he may not be selected for the World Indoor Championships in Valencia next month, it is based on UK Athletics’ fear that by choosing him - with the added possibility of him becoming a world champion - it sends out the wrong message.
When the group of UKA selectors gather tomorrow to decide who will represent the country in the first major track and field championship of Olympic year, they have a tricky choice. Chambers is the champion and he has run the time. He meets the basic qualifying rules. But because they now have an “exceptional circumstance” clause in their rules, they have the perfect excuse for not choosing him. In failing a drugs test, then admitting he took the steroid, then returning, then going away to play American football, and then deciding to make a comeback, Chambers has been seen as playing athletics as he feels like it.
The sprinter says he is clean, has been drug-tested and that he is a changed man. Many think he is being made a scapegoat because UKA tried to stop him running in Sheffield in the first place and then revealed they are planning to change their rules over drug cheats. It is indeed the sport which has the problem, but UKA are determined to make a stance all of their own.
It is why, as the cameras focused in on Chambers as he celebrated his glory, he could not be guaranteed a place in the team for the World Championships.