LONDON _ British sprinter Dwain Chambers will challenge his lifetime Olympic doping ban in a bid to compete in this summer's Beijing Games.
On the day Chambers met with Britain's national anti-doping organization and handed over a letter detailing the drug regimen that led to a two-year suspension, his lawyer said Friday the runner would seek to compete in the British trials and rescind his lifetime Olympic ban.
"We can confirm that Dwain Chambers will be taking proceedings to secure his eligibility/participation in the Olympic and National trials in Birmingham from July 11-13," Nick Collins, the athlete's lawyer, said in a statement.
If Chambers runs in the trials and wins the 100 meters, he will then challenge the British Olympic Association's rule which bars athletes with doping convictions from competing in any Olympics.
The 30-year-old Chambers tested positive in 2003 for the banned steroid THG, and served a two-year suspension imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Collins did not specify whether Chambers would take legal action or file an appeal with a sports organization.
Although there have been 26 successful appeals against Britain's lifetime Olympic ban in the last 16 years, nobody has challenged the actual legality of the rule in the courts.
Chambers could take the case to the High Court in London or the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
The BOA has said it is confident its Olympic doping rule would stand up in court.
Chambers met UK Sport's director of drug-free sport, John Scott, and handed over a letter written by BALCO founder Victor Conte.
The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative provided Chambers with the illegal substances.
"He has provided a detailed account of his doping program, which highlights the level of sophistication that goes these systematic regimes," Scott said. "It is through this sort of information that we are able to better understand both the mind-set of why athletes choose that path and the network that sits behind them."
UK Sport refused to comment on the contents of the letter, but the British Broadcasting Corp. printed what it said was Conte's letter.
The document said Chambers was using seven substances, including EPO and human growth hormone (HGH).
Chambers was banned from August 2003 and briefly tried his hand at American football as a backup wide receiver with the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europa.
He returned to athletics in March and won a silver medal in the 60 meters at the world indoor championships. Banned for life from the Olympics because of his doping offense, Chambers had an unsuccessful monthlong spell with British rugby league club Castleford.
Conte spent four months in prison for conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering, but has written the letter at Chambers' request.
"Any athlete like Dwain who has taken drugs and is prepared to engage with us can potentially bring information which will help us develop the effectiveness of our anti-doping program," Scott said. "We have got the sense from Dwain today that he wants to help us ensure others don't fall into the same trap as him.
"We appreciate his openness and honesty and look forward to further dialogue in the future."
