Chambers going for gold against new breed of European sprinter

Chambers, 32, had looked set to stroll to 100m gold in Barcelona after destroying the world 60m field in Doha in March to finish five places ahead of Ronald Pongon – the only other European to reach the final.

Yet while Chambers was toasting his first world gold, Pongon's 20-year-old compatriot Lemaitre was busy establishing himself as the fastest man in Europe this year by clocking 9.98 seconds at the French Championships.

But after biting back by clocking 9.99secs to defeat Lemaitre on the pair's only meeting this season in Bergen, Chambers has vowed to show experience triumphs over youth.

"There is a saying that I have always used as an analogy 'athletes are like teabags, you never know what you've got until you put them in hot water,'" said Chambers, who trialled at Super League club Castleford in 2008 but failed to land a contract and departed just five weeks later following his brief flirtation with rugby league.

"So with that said, you will know what that individual is all about and how they will cope with pressure when they are put on the big stage in the big final.

"You have to be disciplined in this sport and so I am just relying on that to give me the edge and I will be keeping my mind focussed and staying healthy and going out there and doing my job.

"I wasn't surprised that someone else emerged ahead of the Europeans, this is the beautiful thing about the sport it goes around in circles and every year, every minute, every second there is someone that flies onto the scene.

"I think that is why people love athletics and what keeps everybody interested in it and I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be able to compete at this level and be able to compete with the French runner Christophe Lemaitre.

"Having someone who is going to push you all the way is the essence of competition and to go down and to really fight for it is what defines you as an athlete and as an individual."

Lemaitre's time not only set Chambers on red alert but also established the young Frenchman as the first white man to break through the ten second barrier.

But despite seeing his latest rival take his European junior record last year to chip away at his legacy, the Birchfield Harrier has hailed the watershed moment.

"I think Christophe being the first white man to run sub ten seconds is significant because it shows that sport has moved on and is still progressing and revolving," added Chambers. "If we look at the history of the sport the champions have come from the Caribbean or black class of individuals so for Christophe to be the first and at such a young age it is going to bode well for other individuals.

"Now they can believe in themselves a lot more because they have seen it done and I think we are now going to see more white individuals running under ten seconds which is fantastic for the sport.

"He's come through this year and he ran well at the European Cup and the he has broken the ten second barrier and become the first white guy to ever do that. It showed that he is going to go very far but while I am around I am going to keep pushing and pushing and enjoying it as much as I can."

The world may have at last forgiven Chambers after he was suspended from athletics between 2003 and 2005 for drugs use, even if he remains permanently banned from the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

"I used to live life and race angry but I'm over that now. I'm back in love with my sport after losing myself," he said. "I look back on the young man who took some very bad advice and I realise it wasn't the real me. Now the real me is back again. I have three children and that's made me both responsible and wanting them to see their father in a good light."

"It's all changed this year," said Chambers. "The public's been very supportive and I've had good responses from crowds wherever I've competed.

"I've also had conversations with athletes who had problems with me over what I did. We've dealt with it as adults and we're all moving on.

"Now I can focus on Barcelona, probably my last chance to win a major outdoor title."

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee believes the European 100m crown is a three-way battle, not just two and has backed Brit James Dasaolu to shine in Barcelona.

Dasaolu, who clocked a wind-assisted time of 10.06secs at Loughborough University in May, before finishing second behind Chambers at the trials is currently in the form of his life.

"He has huge potential and we saw a glimpse of it in Loughborough in May," Van Commenee said. "His challenge is to stay fit for three rounds plus relays. The man can run extremely well and there is much more to come but his body doesn't hold up well.

"His main goal is to build that robustness that Dwain has, James is still too vulnerable. But I expect him to be in contention for medals in Barcelona. I would not be surprised if he wins a medal."