BRITISH sprinter Dwain Chambers is back in the big time and has been invited to line up against Usain Bolt at his first high profile grand prix fixture in almost ten years. The Guardian reports that Chambers, who was released from a lifetime drugs ban just four days ago, will line up against a world class field of sub-10-second sprinters at the Ostrava Gold Spike meeting in the Czech Republic on May 25.
The event is run by Euro Meetings, the same body that organises the Diamond League, which had previously banned Chambers from running at their events. The invitation can be seen as part of Chambers's return to top-flight athletics and the first major test in his attempt to qualify for the British Olympic squad. He must run 10.18sec to be eligible for Team GB, a time that should be well within the 34-year-old's reach.
"It's been a hectic few days with a number of very positive discussions on all fronts that illustrate Dwain's standing as an athlete and a person”, Chambers's agent Siza Agha said. "Speaking to him it is beyond doubt that a huge weight has been taken off his shoulders and he is training hard with renewed vigour and determination to meet the new challenges ahead."
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Chambers at his very best is a sub-10 second 100m sprinter. His fastest official time over the distance is 9.97 seconds – quite a way behind Bolt's World Record time of 9.58 seconds. The pair have already lined up against each other this season, in the 4x100m relay at the UTech Classic in Kingston, Jamaica in April. Bolt's team won.
Chambers has not competed in a grand prix event since the British Grand Prix in 2003 – an event memorable as the timing devices broke down and Chambers's winning time of 10 seconds, timed manually, was later reduced to 9.96 on video evidence. He was banned in October of the same year. The sprinter is currently back in Kingston training with former world record holder Asafa Powell under his coach Stephen Francis.
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