Dwain Chambers, Europe's fastest man, became the first athlete banned for use of the designer steroid THG.
The British sprinter was suspended for two years Tuesday and banned for life from the Olympics after being found guilty of a doping offense by UK Athletics.
THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone, is a previously undetectable steroid at the heart of a major US-based doping scandal. Chambers, the European 100m champion, was one of five track and field athletes who tested positive for the drug last summer.
Chambers' two-year suspension will end Nov. 7, 2005. In addition, under British rules, he's barred from ever competing in the Olympics.
"I think two years is pretty emphatic. It's basically the end of a career," said Nick Davies, spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Chambers, who finished fourth in the 100m at the 2000 Sydney Games, had been considered a potential gold medal contender at the Athens Olympics in August.
The 25-year-old runner tested positive in an out-of-competition screening in Germany on Aug. 1. He's maintained he never knowingly took a banned substance.
The four other track and field competitors who tested positive for THG were Americans: shot putter Kevin Toth, 1,500m runner Regina Jacobs and hammer throwers Melissa Price and John McEwen. Their hearings haven't been held yet.
Chambers' California-based coach, Remi Korchemny, was one of four men indicted Feb. 12 on federal charges of supplying THG and other banned drugs to dozens of athletes.
The UK Athletics panel concluded that THG was "chemically and pharmacologically related" to the banned steroid gestrinone. It also said it had no evidence to prove that Chambers intentionally took the banned drug.
"This is a test case for THG generally and we were at the forefront of a worldwide issue," UK Athletics chief executive David Moorcroft said. "I'm relieved the verdict has been reached. I believe it is the right verdict."
Under international rules of strict liability, athletes are responsible for any banned substances found in their bodies regardless of the circumstances.
``It's an exceptionally sad day for Dwain and an exceptionally painful day for the sport,'' Moorcroft said. ``But it is absolutely a price worth paying.''
Chambers' lawyer, Graham Shear, said the sprinter continued to assert he never knowingly took a performance-enhancing substance.
"Dwain has been given the minimum ban available in the circumstances and he continues to assert his innocence," Shear said in a statement.
Shear said the tribunal noted there was "no clinical evidence" of a performance-enhancing effect of THG in the human body.
He said an appeal was being considered. Chambers has 60 days to appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The ban was widely applauded by international sports and doping bodies.
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said the ban "serves as a warning to athletes that the world of sport takes the fight against doping very seriously."
Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said the case shows that "those who cheat will be caught and will face the consequences."
US Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Terry Madden said he looked forward to THG hearings in the American cases.
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