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LONDON — Marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe believes Britain's lifetime Olympic ban for doping offenders unfairly penalizes athletes.
Britain is the only country with such a sanction, but it is under threat after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned an IOC rule that bars any athlete who has received a doping suspension of more than six months from competing in the next Olympics.
While the verdict cleared the way for Olympic 400-meter champion LaShawn Merritt of the United States to defend his title at the 2012 London Games, Dwain Chambers of Britain is still barred because of the national rules.
Radcliffe said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that such an isolated stance by the British Olympic Association unjustly singles out the country's athletes.
"I actually supported the rule that if you had a drugs ban you shouldn't be allowed to compete in the Olympics — it should be a life ban," Radcliffe told the AP. "But at the moment it's unfair because Dwain is the only one who is really being penalized for it. ... It has to be a rule that's fair across the board."
Chambers tested positive for THG in 2003, becoming the first athlete connected to BALCO founder Victor Conte to test positive for the previously undetectable steroid. The former European 100-meter champion served a two-year ban.
"He is one of the few who stuck his hands up and said 'I did cheat and I'm sorry,' and admitted it," Radcliffe said after opening a Nike store near to London's Olympic Stadium. "A lot of people have done their time and never admitted it and they are allowed to come back and compete, and that isn't fair. ...
"It has to be a proper rule. I would rather see every country takes the BOA's rule on board. But if not, I think you have to have some sympathy for Dwain and the situation he is in."
Chambers returned to competition after the two-year ban and is the reigning world indoor sprint champion. In August, he was disqualified from the 100 meters because of false start at the world championships in South Korea.
WADA's European director Frederic Donze told the AP this week that lifetime Olympic bans do not appear legally enforceable.
