TEN FOR 2010: Dwain Chambers

By James Toney, Sportsbeat

DWAIN Chambers will have read news of David Millar's rehabilitation with interest.

POWER HOUSE: Dwain Chambers stormed to European indoor gold in Turin - running a new continental record (Getty Images)

The Scottish cyclist has been cleared to compete at next year's Commonwealth Games, despite his two-year ban for using banned blood booster EPO.

However, there is little chance that Chambers will be given such lenient treatment from Commonwealth Games England, whose president, Dame Kelly Holmes, has been a long-time campaigner for drugs-free sport.

After all, just one year ago, Holmes reacted with fury at Chambers's ill-conceived legal campaign for his place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"This is an athlete who knowingly took a drug that was undetectable at the time, got caught, admitted he'd taken drugs, then went on to say that you can't win anything without taking drugs," she said.

"I don't think it puts us in a good light as a country allowing a cheat, who has admitted he's a cheat, to represent us."

However, Chambers has every reason to feel positive as he looks back on a year where success, disappointment and controversy were again part of his story in equal measure.

The 31-year old started the year in style, running a 6.42 second European record as he blitzed to gold at the European Indoor Championships in Turin.

He talked of writing his name in history ‘for the right reasons' and a desire to ‘let the past be the past', but then he published a controversial autobiography, which landed him in more trouble.

Chambers made bold predictions about his ‘Project Bolt' - but he shut up about that after he was beaten by Simeon Williamson at the UK Championships in Birmingham a few months later, although he won the 100m at the European Team Championships in Leiria.

However, at the World Championships in Berlin, as a fleet-footed Usain Bolt streaked to glory in another world record, he finished sixth - running ten seconds dead as the only European to reach the final (only three reached the semi-finals).

So 2010 could be a big year for Chambers, even if he is unlikely to get the chance to run at the Commonwealths in Delhi.

He has proven what he can do over 60m and will be among the favourites for the World Indoor title in Qatar - he ran the two quickest indoor times in the world last season.

The European Championships in Barcelona are another big target - his time from Berlin ranks him top in the continent this year, with France's Christophe Lamaitre (10.04 secs) and Williamson (10.05 secs), his nearest rivals.

But it's likely Chambers will continue to be excluded from the new-look IAAF Diamond League, following ‘an agreement in principle' by the 14 meet directors not to invite athletes who have been found guilty of a serious doping offence.