SCOTLAND'S Olympic champion Chris Hoy has joined the growing chorus against sprinter Dwain Chambers being allowed to represent Great Britain at the Beijing Games.
The confirmed drugs cheat moved a step closer to securing his place in the Olympics line-up next month by winning a qualifying race in Birmingham yesterday.
The 30-year-old runner, who won team gold at the 2006 European Championships, is also this week planning to legally challenge a British Olympic Association (BOA) by-law aimed at banning cheats for life.
But Hoy,
writing in Scotland on Sunday today, says Chambers should not be allowed to travel to China, whatever the outcome of qualifying events, as he is "making a mockery" of the Olympic ideals.
"The hope is he will not be allowed to travel to Beijing and that everyone can start to concentrate on the clean athletes who are aiming to do themselves and their country justice and, hopefully, bring back as many medals as possible," says Hoy, a World Championships and Olympics gold medallist.
He says it was a "simple decision" to be among the 100 past and present British competitors to write in support of the BOA by-law. "It is not a personal attack on Dwain, it is about the principle, and my own strongly held belief that we need to have the toughest possible deterrents if we are ever going to eradicate the illegal use of drugs in our sports," Hoy says.
"The majority of people who compete in Beijing will be clean. Some people may think I am being naive, but I look about the cycle track and I look at my main rivals and I am sure that they don't take drugs. But that doesn't stop the innuendo… drugs cheats don't just risk their own reputation; they try to deprive honest and dedicated athletes of the medals they deserve and they deprive youngsters of worthwhile role models."
Hoy insists punishments, if athletes are caught, are too lenient. "What's the punishment? A year or two out the sport. In my opinion that is not enough, especially if the ban is served outwith Olympic years."
Yesterday, Chambers won the 100 metres qualifying final in exactly 10 seconds. Speaking after the race, he said: "That was hard work. I'm just glad I've done my part of it. Hopefully, next week things will go well. It's going to be tough but I'm going to keep my spirits high.
"I'd like to say thank you for everyone that supported me throughout this whole ordeal. Hopefully, all that will go in my favour for Beijing this summer. I just want to go and do well for my country."
Triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards said the atmosphere was muted. "Even with athletics fans there is a real antipathy towards Dwain," he added.
Chambers' legal team must now convince a High Court judge on Wednesday to grant an injunction against the BOA by-law.
If successful it will allow him to run in Beijing, even though the full hearing will not be heard until next year.
Chambers tested positive in 2003 for tetrahydrogestrinone and served a two-year ban.
The full article contains 531 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
