Chambers is left with nowhere to run by judgement

After Dwain Chambers failed a drugs test, he failed to resurrect his career in American football and rugby league and now he has failed to force his way onto the plane to Beijing.

Today's verdict marks a point of no return for the 30-year-old. There is no time for an appeal given the International Olympic Committee's deadline of tomorrow for the selection for the Games.

But beyond that it is difficult to see how he has any future in athletics. During the hearing, his lawyer Jonathan Crystal said: "If he doesn't go to Beijing then he walks off into the sunset. If he does, then there are further and better opportunities."

So now the sunset beckons. Banned from the lucrative Grand Prix circuit, he will struggle to make a living as an athlete. Sponsors will not want to be tainted by association while athletics chiefs will have no inclination to offer him funding.

The British Olympic Association bylaw does not apply to the world or European Championships, but it will take an iron will for Chambers to carry on competing in a sport which has made it so adundantly clear he is not welcome.

Asked on the steps of the High Court this morning if it was the end of his career, Chambers shrugged and mumbled: "Too early to say."

But the world of Celebrity Big Brother and the jungle reality showis more realistic as his next port of call. For reasons of notoriety rather than achievement, he is now one of the most recognisable sportsmen in the country.

Ironically, Chambers produced an incredible performance last week running 100m in 10.0 seconds - the fastest "clean" time for a Briton in seven years - as part of his ultmately futile bid for Olympic selection.

This was all the more commendable given the barrage of criticism and the absence of a coach. Imagine, experts asked, what he could have achieved had he not taken drugs? But that is hypothetical. Imagine how fast he would have run had he not been caught.

The decision of such a high-profile athlete to use performance-enhancing drugs makes him irreparably damaged goods in the eyes of many within British sport which is why a large number of former Olympians supported the campaign for his exclusion.

Javelin gold medallist Tessa Sanderson summed up the mood today, saying: "I think it is absolutely the right decision. It proves that if you go out and cheat you will not get away with it in the end."

There was also a backlash from fellow athletes within the British squad with Jo Pavey, Martin Rooney and Craig Pickering among those to have signed a petition opposing his legal action.

The controversial by-law banning Chambers was introduced in 1992 to stop drugs cheats from ever representing Britain and has been appealed successfully before, though never in court.

Rejecting claims from Chambers's lawyers that the ban was " unreasonable", David Pannick QC for the BOA, said the organisation were within their rights to operate a lifetime ban even it was only one of three Olympic nations, including China and Norway, to do so.

He added: "The BOA does not think it is appropriate to be represented at this Games by someone who would cheat, deceive, damage their health or bring shame on sport."

By not granting Chambers's request for an injunction, this argument clearly held sway with the judge.