Post by Taxigirl on Feb 25, 2004 12:40:12 GMT
Dwain Chambers would have a strong case if he appeals against his life ban from the Olympics, according to a judge at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The sprinter is considering appealing to the CAS after a two-year suspension from all competition and a life-time Olympic ban after failing a drug test .
Ian Blackshaw feels Chambers "has got no chance at all on the conviction".
But the judge added: "I think his best chance is to appeal against the sentence, in particular the life ban."
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/3518395.stm
Chambers was found guilty of testing positive for the designer steroid THG (tetrahydrogestrinone) following an out-of-competition test in Germany last August.
The 25-year-old's suspension, back-dated to 7 November, also means the imposition of a lifetime Olympic ban, although Chambers does have 60 days in which to lodge an appeal.
Blackshaw - an arbitrator for the CAS who is also a member of the International Sports Law Centre in the Hague and of the UK Sports Dispute Resolution Panel - feels Chambers will attempt to clear his name.
"I think it is very likely that he will. He certainly has absolutely nothing to lose by doing so," Blackshaw told BBC Radio Four's Today Programme.
"I think he has got no chance at all on the conviction. The fact that he took the substance unwittingly does not help at all because of the rule of strict liability.
"There maybe the possibility on the grounds that THG, at the time of the positive test, was not on the banned list.
"It is a case of UK Athletics proving that THG has a similar nature or pharmacological effect to the other substances that are not on the banned list."
Blackshaw believes the life ban from the Olympics, which is automatically imposed by the British Olympic Association, offers Chambers' best hope.
"It is a first offence and normally if it is a first offence it is a two-year ban; if it is a subsequent offence it is a life ban.
"The Court of Arbitration for Sport looks at the sentence and needs to be satisfied it is proportionate - in other words that the punishment fits the crime."
Chambers continues to protest his innocence, insisting he had "never knowingly taken a performance-enhancing substance".
Blackshaw, who could be selected among the three-strong CAS arbitration panel for an appeal, added: "At the Court of Arbitration it is a fresh hearing.
"The court will look at the facts, the evidence and the law, and ensure that all the relevant facts have been taken into account, the law has been correctly applied and decide the case on its merits."