Chambers escapes IAAF punishment

Dwain Chambers won the 60m indoor European title earlier this month

Briton Dwain Chambers has escaped punishment over his controversial autobiography from the International Association of Athletics Federations.

The book detailed the doping programme that earned him a two-year ban.

The IAAF had launched its investigation to find out if Chambers' book had brought the sport into disrepute.

"There is no reason for us to take any action against the book or against Chambers," said IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss.

"If other people feel they were attacked it's in their hands to do something," added Weiss.

Chambers tested positive for the banned substance THG in 2003 and served a two-year suspension.

The 30-year-old's return to athletics has been dogged by controversy and the sprinter has been largely frozen out of the sport since returning from his ban.

As a result he has found it almost impossible to repay the money he earned while taking illegal performance-enhancing substances in 2002 and 2003, though he did claim the European indoor 60m title earlier in March.

Meanwhile sprinters face immediate exclusion from a race if they false start under new IAAF proposals.

"Many athletes were playing mind games with the others, but under the new rule that would not be possible," said Jorge Salcedo, head of the technical commission of the IAAF.

The IAAF Council's proposal will now go to the IAAF Congress before the World Championships in Berlin and if ratified the new rule would become effective at the start of 2010.

At the moment one false start is allowed per race, with another false start resulting in the automatic exclusion of the guilty sprinter regardless of who caused the first false start.