ATHLETICS: Dwain Chambers, Britain's highest-earning male athlete in 2003 and one of the country's main hopes for an Olympic gold medal in Athens this summer, was last night banned for two years after testing positive for a banned designer anabolic steroid.

The 25-year-old European 100 metre champion and record holder is the first athlete in the world to be punished for taking tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), a previously undetectable steroid at the centre of a US criminal investigation.

UK Athletics, the sport's governing body, said that following an independent disciplinary hearing in London last Thursday Chambers' ban would last until November 2005.

Under British Olympic Association rules he also is barred permanently from competing in the Olympics for Britain.

"This is a test case for THG and we were at the forefront of a worldwide issue," said David Moorcroft, chief executive of UK Athletics.

"It's an exceptionally sad day for Dwain and an exceptionally painful day for the sport. But it is absolutely a price worth paying."

Chambers earned £124,000 in prize money and bonuses last year, a figure he probably tripled in sponsorship.

But his main sponsors, Adidas, will now terminate his £100,000 per-year endorsement contract.

Chambers tested positive in an out-of-competition test in Saarbrucken, Germany, on August 1st.

But it was not until the Guardian broke the story in October that details of the test became public.

The Londoner maintains he never knowingly took a banned substance and has blamed supplements he was given by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco) in California, a company recommended to him by his coach Remi Korchemny.

Chambers said the owner and founder of Balco, Victor Conte, assured him all the supplements he was given were within international doping rules.

Along with Korchemny, Conte is one of four men to have been indicted on charges of supplying THG and other banned drugs to dozens of athletes in a number of sports.

Chambers' lawyer, Graham Shear, said in a statement his client "has always and continues to assert that he has never knowingly taken a performance enhancing substance".

Under the international rules of strict liability, athletes are responsible for any banned substances found in their bodies regardless of the circumstances.

Chambers has 60 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, whose decision will be final and binding.

Britain now faces the prospect of being stripped by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of the silver medals the 4x100m relay team won at the World Championships in Paris last August because Chambers was part of the team.

The decision to ban Chambers was welcomed by Dick Pound, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He said: "We hope it sends a message to other athletes who would contemplate using banned substances or methods. Those who cheat will be caught and will face the consequences.

"This is a particularly important decision because a disciplinary committee has now confirmed that THG is, in fact, a banned substance related to a steroid named on the prohibited list," he said.

"THG is a steroid created specifically to enhance sports performance and allow competitors to cheat. A two-year sanction for its use is completely appropriate."

Pound's comments were echoed by IAAF spokesman Nick Davies.

"A two-year ban is pretty emphatic. It's basically the end for most careers. In this case it's appropriate," he told Sky Sports.

Craig Reedie, president of the British Olympic Committee, said he considered the case had been properly handled.

Chambers, who has a best 100 metres time of 9.87 seconds, is now considering a switch to American football.

Guardian Service

More athletics: PAGE 26

Trevor Graham, the former coach of Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, has been the subject of questions by the grand jury in San Francisco investigating the illegal distribution THG to elite athletes, it was alleged yesterday.

Tom Craig, husband of Regina Jacobs, the world indoor 1,500 metres champion and record holder who is one of four American athletes to have tested positive for THG, revealed he was asked about Graham. An unidentified athlete has also said they too were asked about Graham by the grand jury.

"Investigators are interested in the activities that go on with Trevor Graham and his camp," the athlete told the Mercury News.

During an 18-month investigation, American law enforcement agents found letters in the rubbish bin of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative that accused a prominent track coach of supplying athletes with a steroid from Mexico.

"The investigation is not about me - as far as I know," Graham said in a recent interview. He was unavailable for comment yesterday.