Linford Christie: Chambers should be used as an 'ambassador'

Chambers lost his appeal against last week against a British Olympic Association
bylaw which bans him from competing in all future Games, meaning he won't travel to Beijing next month.

Christie has urged the sport to 'rehabilitate' the drug cheat rather than 'leave him to rot'.

Dwain Chambers and Linford Christie in training before the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000

Chambers, who served a two-year suspension after failing a drugs test in 2003,
had hoped to win an injunction at the High Court which would enable him to run in Beijing.

Christie, who now coaches but is also banned from the Olympics having failed a drug test himself at the end of his career, said: 'I don't really comment on Dwain but there are rules and regulations in our sport that we all have to abide to.

'There are rules and regulations in life we have to abide to but sometimes I feel that forgiveness is one of those things that we've got to look into.

'Okay, he can't go to the Olympics but I think the sport has to rehabilitate him.'

Christie, who won 100 metres gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, also believes a successful, clean comeback by Chambers would set a good example.

Dwain Chambers leaves the High Court in London last week

'Yes, and I think that's what they need to use him as an ambassador for the sport.

'Go out there to the kids in the community and say 'Listen, this is what's happened to me. I made mistakes and sometimes your mistakes come back and bite you in the bum so don't do the same as I did.'

'And I'm sure he can go out there and do good but if we leave him there to rot than he'll become a bitter person and who knows. So I honestly feel sometimes that forgiveness is one of the things that says, 'If God can forgive us then we should go out and forgive others.' That's something I'm learning.'

Many high-profile athletes signed a petition voicing their opposition to Chambers' bid to overturn the Olympic ban, and Darren Campbell - who lost a European Championships gold and World Championships silver 100m relay medal due to Chambers' failed test - agreed with the ruling last week.

'I just think it's important that sport is clean and fair and it's very unfortunate,' he said.

'Dwain was a young man who unfortunately made the wrong decisions but in that
sport has to come first.

'It just wouldn't have sent out the right message if he had have been able to overturn a ruling that was there before he'd decided to take the drugs because the rules are there as a deterrent so it's very unfortunate that but that's the way that it goes.'