Chambers Is Back In Love With Athletics.

Dwain Chambers has admitted that he has re-discovered his love for athletics and in doing so re-discovered himself after spending years in the emotional wilderness during and immediately following his drugs ban.

The 32-year-old faces a stern challenge from new French sensation Christophe Lemaitre, the first white man ever to break the ten-second barrier in the 100 metres this week at the European Championships in Barcelona, but is confident that he will win his first ever major outdoor title because of his new-found state of mind.

“I used to live life and race angry but I’m over that now,” admitted Chambers. “I’m back in love with my sport after losing myself for a while.

“I look back on the young man who took some very bad advice and I realise it wasn’t the real me. Now the real me is back again. I have three children and that’s made me both responsible and wanting them to see their father in a good light.”

It seems that the world has at last been prepared to forgive the current world indoor 60 metres champion after he was suspended from athletics between 2003 and 2005, even if he remains banned from the Olympics and Commonwealth Games permanently.

“It’s all changed this year,” Chambers explained. “The public’s been very supportive and I’ve had good responses from crowds wherever I’ve competed. I’ve also had conversations with athletes who had problems with me over what I did. We’ve dealt with it as adults and we’re all moving on. Now I can focus on Barcelona because I recognise it to be my biggest and probably last chance to win a major outdoor title.”

Lemaitre may have a say in this but Chambers remains confident. “I’ve done my homework on him and he has youth and a faster time this season on his side, so I’ll have to draw on all my experience.

“Major championships are entirely different to one-off races. You have to negotiate four races in two days. If you train for one-off races then that’s all you can do. You also need to know how to conduct yourself in a final.
“After the past few years winning gold would mean everything to me. It should be an exciting final but I feel I’m ready for it.”

If Chambers were to succeed it would be a happy ending to an otherwise sorry story.