Chambers appeal bid is stuck in the blocks

The London sprinter is determined to overturn the British Olympic Association's by-law and may take his case to court.

But first he must launch an appeal through the BOA who yesterday revealed their deadline to guarantee a hearing before Beijing for such cases was February 15.

BOA spokeswoman Miriam Wilkens said: "That is the deadline we have set for appeals so we can turn them around in time for when teams are nominated to the BOA."

The BOA had written to the 28 Olympic sports to inform them of last Friday's deadline.

It is not the end of the Beijing road for Chambers, although it will now prove extremely difficult for him to make a case and hope to have it heard. Chambers is determined to compete at the Games and said: "If I run well, I hope to be in a position to warrant the ban being overturned. Anyone would love to compete in Beijing. It's the pinnacle of any athlete's career."

The BOA by-law prevents cheats such as Chambers competing at the Olympics, but it has never been tested in court. Christine Ohuruogu, Britain's 400m world champion, was cleared to run in Beijing by the BOA but her doping offence had been to miss three tests whereas Chambers was found positive for the steroid THG.

Tanni Grey-Thompson, who is leading a task force looking into UK Athletics' doping policy, wants to meet Chambers to find out why he cheated.

"I need to understand why an athlete would make that (choice)," she said yesterday at the Laureus World Sports Awards in St Petersburg.

"You can sit and talk about all that random stuff — money, fame, glory, all those things — but not really understand why he took the decisions he took.

"It is important in terms of informing us. We need that type of knowledge for athlete education."

Chambers' comeback, straight into the team for the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, has meant one of Britain's brightest young sprinters is going to miss out on a place in the 60m next month.

Simeon Williamson, 21, strengthened his chances of being named ahead of Craig Pickering, also 21, with another impressive performance at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham.

A week after finishing runner-up to Chambers at the World trials in Sheffield, Williamson was second again at the National Indoor Arena on Saturday. Norway's Jaysuma Saidy Ndure won in 6.56sec, but Williamson was just behind him in 6.57sec, a personal best and another major hint to the selectors.

Pickering, the European Indoor silver medallist, did not compete because of illness but is expected to run in Paris on Friday — with the British team finalised on Sunday. Williamson said: "I can do no more and I know I can run even faster this winter."

As Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele brought an 8,000 crowd to their feet with a world record performance of 8min 4.35sec in the two miles, Kelly Sotherton produced a totally unexpected 400m run. Such was the quality of her victory that she is now being lined up for a place in Britain's 4 x 400m squad.

Sotherton spent the afternoon locked in a tremendous threeevent competition with Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft, who ended up the winner by just 18 points.

Sotherton, who won the 60m hurdles, was even better in the 400m. She won in 52.47sec, smashing her personal best of 54.14sec from her last race at the distance in 2003 and achieving the best time by a British woman this winter.

"I have put down one card for Beijing," said Sotherton. "My aim is to make the relay in Beijing and I don't see why they cannot select me. I should have gone faster."

Dave Collins, UKA's performance director, said: 'She is now in the frame for the relay. I wish I could clone these multi-eventers with the way they can do so well in another discipline."

Elsewhere, Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva broke her indoor pole vault world record by two centimetres with a 4.95m clearance in Donetsk.