Great Britain’s Dwain Chambers believes a sub-10 second time may be needed to secure gold in Wednesday’s keenly anticipated men’s 100m final at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.
Chambers starts a marginal favourite for 100m victory in what many view as a mouthwatering head-to-head duel with France’s emerging star Christophe Lemaitre.
The veteran Briton defeated the 20-year-old Lemaitre by just 0.03 – recording an impressive 9.99 to land victory in their pre-Barcelona rehearsal at the SPAR European Team Championships in Bergen last month.
And after Lemaitre became the first white man in history to dip below the 10-second barrier at the French championships with 9.98 earlier this month, Chambers believes such a performance could be necessary to deliver European gold.
Usain Bolt, the world record holder at 9.58, and Asafa Powell, who lost to the former and Tyson Gay, both share the world leading time of 9.82secs.
“Based on the team championships where I was pushed to a sub-ten performance in order to win and beat Christophe Lemaitre, it looks like that (a sub-10 second time) will be the case,” said Chambers.
“But the most important thing for me is winning and if I do a sub-ten clocking then that will be a bonus.”
Chambers is regarded by many as the slight favourite with even Lemaitre conceding this to be the case. However, the 32-year-old World Indoor 60m champion was not getting too carried away by the French athlete’s comments.
“I accept the compliment, but I know a lot can change when we hit the start line,” added Chambers. “The young boy has shown he can compete. He ran 10.09 in Paris (behind Olympic champion Usain Bolt) and I think he will gain a lot of experience from that. I think he will go the championships with a lot of confidence.”
Chambers, who won the 100m silver behind compatriot Darren Campbell at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest, is a vastly experienced performer and although he holds great respect for Lemaitre, the European Junior champion, he was confident of finally winning his first European 100m gold.
“I’m optimistic, he added. “I’ve got strong competition from Christophe Lemaitre and the two Brits. It is my ambition to win and I just want to do what I can, stay ahead of him (Lemaitre).”
He did, however, confirm he has no desire to match the incredible achievements of indefatigable sprint star Merlene Ottey. The 50-year-old Jamaican-born athlete, who is part of the Slovenian 4x100m squad, is set to make history in Barcelona as the oldest ever competitor at a European Championships.
But when Chambers was asked at the official Great Britain pre-championship press conference, does he have any plans to compete for as long, he answered bluntly: “No chance. It is fantastic to see her compete at this level, but for me I just want to enjoy it (athletics) while I have my youth with me.”
