Grey-Thompson to head anti-doping review

By John Mehaffey

LONDON (Reuters) - UK Athletics (UKA) appointed Britain's most successful Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson on Wednesday to head an anti-doping review the day after selecting sprinter Dwain Chambers for the world indoor championships.

The British governing body made it clear on Tuesday that it had not wanted to select the sprinter after his return from a two-year doping ban.

In a statement on Wednesday, UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos said the review would ensure that the sport never found itself in a similar position again.

"Athletics must act now, and must act decisively, to strengthen its own ability to select the athletes it wants to select," he said. "Representing Great Britain must remain a privilege and not a right."

On Tuesday, UKA conceded it was forced to select Chambers under its own rules after he served his ban following a positive test for the designer steroid THG and won the 60 metres at the British trials. The world championships are scheduled for Valencia from March 7-9.

UKA would have also taken into consideration the fate of the British Athletic Federation which went bankrupt in 1997 following a legal battle with 800 metres runner Diane Modahl who was cleared after failing a drugs test.

Chambers is banned from the Beijing Olympics under British Olympic Association rules.