Dwain Chambers faces a nervous wait ahead of his High Court hearing on Thursday. Photograph: Rudy Lhomme/Action Images

Dwain Chambers will have to wait another 24 hours before discovering if he will be going to the Olympic Games in Beijing after his High Court hearing was this afternoon put back to Thursday.

Chambers, the former European 100m champion, is seeking a temporary injunction against the British Olympic Association’s by-law which prevents athletes who have committed a serious drugs offence from representing Team GB at any future Games. The Londoner, who won the 100m at the national championships in Birmingham on Saturday, tested positive for the anabolic steroid Tetrahydrogestrinone in 2003 and was banned two years under the international rules of the sport. The BOA suspension is a separate matter but he is the first athlete to legally challenge their by-law.

The hearing was originally set for Wednesday, but it has been changed after a request from the BOA because their chairman, Lord Moynihan, is returning from business in Houston that day. Justice Sir Colin Mackay will preside over the case and the BOA have been told that he will give his verdict on Thursday. That will allow for any appeals to be made on Friday, 24 hours before the British athletics selectors have to finalise their Beijing squad. The BOA by-law has been in place since 1992 but Chambers’ legal team have said it is “inherently unfair” and a “restraint of trade”.

Chambers was using a cocktail of seven substances before he tested positive in 2003. He returned in 2006 to help Britain’s relay men win the 4×100m gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg before then pursuing a career as an American Footballer. He came back to athletics this winter, winning silver in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, before heading to rugby league. He failed to win a contract with Castleford Tigers and now he is determined to be in Beijing.

His time on Saturday of 10.00 was the quickest by a Briton since he ran 9.99 in 2001 and if he does win his appeal, and is named in the team, he will automatically secure a place in the relay squad under international rules.

Chambers won his right to an injunction hearing last week. If he wins in the High Court, he would be allowed to run only in Beijing. If he then wanted to chase a place in the team for the Olympics in London in 2012, there would be a full court hearing in an attempt to overturn the ban.

About this articleCloseThis article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Monday July 14 2008. It was last updated at 13:22 on July 14 2008.

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