So the day has come when we find out whether Dwain Chambers has been successful in his attempt to overturn the British Olympic Association's bylaw banning dopers for life, allowing him to compete in Beijing.
The whole affair has been a shocking indictment of athletics. The fact that people are debating whether the problem here is the severity of the punishment dished out to Chambers leads any sporting fan to question the collective will to eradicate doping.
People seem to forget that Dwain Chambers lied, cheated, and defrauded not just the sport of athletics, but his teammates who have lost medals as a result of his selfish actions. He has brought the sport into unquestionable disrepute, and cannot be considered a legitimate competitor in the Olympics or any event that he competes in.
What is also worrying is that from the coverage of the story, it seems that only past, or experienced athletes have spoken out against Chambers. Paula Radcliffe, Steve Backley and Sebastian Coe have all condemned the situation - yet I've heard barely a wink from the current crop, apart from Craig Pickering, a fellow 100m sprinter. Questioned repeatedly on the topic, Pickering suggests that the silence from amongst the rest of Chambers peers speaks volumes. Chambers himself has claimed that he took drugs because he thought everyone else on the start line was. It's no excuse, but you can hardly blame him for his cynicism when three of the last five 100m Olympic champions have been found to be drugs cheats.
Ultimately, however, Dwain Chambers knew the rules when he took the drugs. The BOA's policy of handing out lifetime bans to dopers was in place when he took the steroids - he knew the consequences. He shouldn't even be in a position where he can question the validity of the law. Unquestionably, the ban shouldn't be overturned; it shouldn't be an option to have Chambers at the Olympics, where children and aspiring athletes should be provided with shining examples of professionalism and sporting excellence.
If it transpires that Chambers does win the case, then athletics has some serious questions to ask itself. Why, if it is entirely committed to eradicating drugs from the sport, is it allowing a cheating liar to compete in the premier showcase for athletics? It is already a ludicrous situation that the ban imposed by the IAAF for caught drugs cheats has been reduced from four years to just two. The governing body and the sport in general needs to make a stand.
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