Don't hand Dwain an Olympic reprieve, says sprint great Fredericks

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UPDATED:

07:59 GMT, 1 April 2012

Athletics legend Frankie Fredericks says the lifetime Olympic ban on British sprinter Dwain Chambers must stand.

The Court of Arbitration in Sport is expected to give its judgment in two weeks’ time on the British Olympic Association’s bid to retain their lifetime ban on drug offenders, despite claims that it breaches the world anti-doping code by punishing offenders twice.

If the BOA lose the case, 33-year-old Chambers, who tested
positive for the banned steroid THG in 2003 and served a two-year
suspension, would become eligible for selection for this summer’s Olympics.

No thanks: Frankie Fredericks does not want to see Dwain Chambers in London

But last week, former Namibia sprinter Fredericks, now an International Olympic Committee member and chairman of the organisation’s Athletes
Commission, insisted that the 2012 Games must send out a crucial message.

‘It’s important to teach the young people of the world that if you cheat you can never go to the Olympics,’ said the 44-year-old.

‘This is a very simple, very clear message we need to send out. There are consequences to your decisions.

‘We won’t stop you from making money at other races, from earning a living, but as a drug cheat the Olympics aren’t possible any more.

‘I hope that CAS will make the right decision on this, because if they do not, if he [Chambers] is allowed to compete, it will send out completely the wrong message. Rather than going forwards in the fight against doping, we will go backwards.’

National hero Chambers is awaiting the outcome of the CAS ruling

Fredericks, who won four Olympic silver medals and two world titles in a
glittering career, acknowledges that, during his time at the top of
athletics, the sport was still feeling the aftershocks of Ben Johnson’s disgraced performances at Seoul in 1988.

‘The first Olympics I watched was in 1988, when Johnson won,’ he said. ‘To see someone take the glory from someone else and then find out
they’re cheating was so wrong.

‘There are always people in society who want to take short cuts, want to take things that belong to someone else. It’s not part of the Olympic spirit and it’s not fair play. It’s not the ideals we’re trying to teach.

‘In a strange way, I’m happy that I saw Johnson, because I knew I could never do that to anyone else, and I hope nobody ever does it to me.

‘Kids have to believe in what they see, and I think the BOA have a good message and a strong story to tell. I hope they succeed.’

Fredericks admits he has a special affection for London’s Olympics. ‘I’ve watched this little baby grow, from having no Olympic stadium to having wonderful, first class stadiums all around. Only the Olympics can bring this to a place, and what with it being the third time the Games have been here, London is unique.

Form: Chambers (centre) finished third at the recent World Championships

‘The Olympics are an amazing thing, a movement that changes cities and lives for the better, and London could be the most special Games ever.’

And those special Games could have extra special stars in Britain’s Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu.

‘They’re great champions, they know how to deal with the pressure and how to use the crowd to their advantage, like Michael Johnson did to me in 1996 in Atlanta,’ said Fredericks.

‘If they introduce Ennis and she gets a huge roar, and then the next lane gets a polite round of applause, that can give you an extra 10 per cent, it really can.

They just have to know how to turn the pressure to their benefit.

‘I hope they do, and I hope that it happens early — a home win, a British athlete winning gold, because that will set the scene.

‘That would bring the Games to a whole different level.’

Franke Fredericks is heading the Mizuno Seiei Moments campaign, which showcases famous sporting moments. Visit www.facebook.com/mizunorunning