Asafa Powell is backing Chambers to reach Olympic 100m final

Asafa Powell insists British sprinter Dwain Chambers can impress at the London Olympics after his ban was lifted.

Chambers, 34, was suspended for two years after testing positive for a banned steroid in 2003 and is eligible for London 2012 after a court ruling overturned the British Olympic Association’s lifetime ban for drug cheats. He has an ally in Jamaican Powell, a former 100metres world record holder, with whom Chambers trained earlier this year in the Caribbean.

Chambers will today chase the 100m ‘A’ qualifying standard of 10.18 seconds when he takes on a field including Usain Bolt at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava.

Powell said: “Dwain is working hard. He really deserves this and he’s a real cool guy and we enjoy training with him here.

“Hopefully he gets to go there and run well. For me, Dwain has the best chance [of the Brits] of getting to the final.”

Asked whether he backed the decision to let Chambers run in London, Powell said: “Yeah definitely, I welcome that. Ever since he’s been here I was hoping that he’d get the chance to run so I’m happy for him.”

Canada’s disgraced former sprinter Ben Johnson — who tested positive for a steroid after winning the 100m at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul — has also said Chambers should have the right to run.

“He deserves a second chance. Yes, everybody deserves a second chance in life,” Johnson said.