Chambers silver: Dwain one of three Brits to finish in second

Chambers was beaten to the title by Nigerian Olusoji Fasuba, who ran the fastest sprint of the year, but tied with former world 100m champion Kim Collins for the runners-up prize.

Both men won $15,000 but, because of the deal with the IAAF which allowed Chambers to return to the sport in 2006, he will have to repay the world governing body a quarter of that to compensate for money he won in the years in which he has since admitted taking drugs.

'This is my Olympics. I have no Olympics in the summer so I'm giving everything here,' he said in the morning and he was as good as his word. His time of 6.54sec beat his career-best of 6.55sec, run in 2000 when he was still competing as a drug-free athlete.

Judges took several minutes to decide the two men had dead-heated for second, but photographers crowded around the prostrate Chambers while ignoring Collins and the winner, despite Fasuba's time of 6.51sec.

Chambers, 29, said: 'I haven't been sleeping, not because of what they have been saying and writing but because of what I wanted to achieve here. I can go home now and sleep nights.

'I hope now we can come to a compromise (with the sport). I hope things die down. It hasn't been easy but I think the athletes and general public are a lot more forgiving. I made a mistake in life but everybody does.'

Fasuba and Collins both said they had no objection to running against Chambers. Fasuba said: 'I am a Christian and the Bible talks a lot of forgiveness.' Chambers plans to talk with UK Athetics chairman Ed Warner today.

'I am staying here to support the team over the weekend but I will go home on Monday and sort out what options are open to me,' he said.

Another London sprinter came away with the first of Britain's three medals. Jeanette Kwakye, 25 this month, came within 0.02sec of being the first British woman to win a global sprint when she was overtaken in the last four strides by American Angela Williams in the women's 60m.

Kwakye, who equalled a 22-yearold British record of 7.13sec in her semi-final, smashed it in the final with 7.08sec. Only the six-time U.S. indoor champion ahead of her has bettered that time this year.

Kelly Sotherton, who won silver in last year's European indoors, lost the pentathlon gold by only 15 points to Belgian Tia Hellebaut.

Sotherton's hopes of a $40,000 first prize seemed to have disappeared after a high jump of 1.99 metres by Hellebaut, the European champion in the discipline, which earned her the first points score of more than 2,000 from a single event in a women's multi-competition.

Sotherton hit back with a careerbest shot putt of 14.57m and a long jump of 6.45m but was 93 points before the final event, the 800m.

Sotherton, 31, had to beat Hellebaut by 7.5sec to take gold. She ran an indoor career best of 2min 8.64sec, and far behind her the bespectacled Belgian's legs gave way five strides from the line. She fell over it, but her effort was enough as she finished 6.47sec behind.

Controversy had continued to follow Chambers through the day as Carl Myerscough, the other athlete in Britain's team banned from the Olympics for drug-taking, called for an end to what he condemned as a witchhunt on a day when IOC president Jacques Rogge joined those lined up against Chambers.

Myerscough said: 'There's a lack of perspective about the coverage. It's over the top. He is perfectly eligible to compete as the rules stand. He did wrong but he has acknowledged that and served the punishment. 'He's not an axe murderer or rapist. There should not be a witchhunt against the guy. He's doing his best to get on with his career and the rules allow that.

'I have a slightly unique perspective on it.

'You can argue it should be a two or four or eight-year ban but in reality it is a life sentence. Every day of his life he wakes up and that stigma is with him.'

Myerscough, who finished 12th in yesterday's shot with a season's best of 19.86m, tested positive while a teenager at school.

He always said he did not knowingly take drugs and an appeal panel overturned a lifetime ban from the Commonwealth Games but not the Olympics.

Chambers' lawyers will decide next week whether to challenge his Olympic ban in the High Court but Rogge said: 'We support the British Olympic Association position.'