Early Life and Career
Chambers was born in Islington and raised in Finsbury, London. Running was a part of his family life: his older sister Christine won the senior 100 metres finals at the English Schools Championships in 1986 and 1987 and competed in the European Athletics Junior Championships. As a schoolboy he was coached by Selwyn Philbert who devoted himself to the young sprinter. Chambers first athletic success came at the 1994 English Schools' Athletic Association Championships, where he won the boys' intermediate 100 m race with a time of 10.64 seconds. International medals followed at the 1995 European Junior Championships, at which he won the 100 m and the 4×100 metres relay. He defended these titles at the 1997 European Junior Championships and set a then world junior record in the 100 m with a time of 10.06 s.
Chambers transitioned into the senior ranks soon after, taking the 100 m silver medal behind his British team mate Darren Campbell at the 1998 European Championships. He achieved a new personal best in September at the 1998 IAAF World Cup with a run of 10.03 s for third place and won a relay gold medal. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games he was a 100 m semi finalist and set a games record as part of the 4×100 m relay team. His ability attracted the attention of former sprinter and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mike McFarlane, who became his coach. He came first in the 100 m in the 1999 European Cup, then at a meet in Nuremberg he became only the second European sprinter (after Linford Christie) to break the ten second barrier with a time of 9.99 s. Fellow British sprinter Jason Gardener scored a time of 9.98 s in Lausanne soon after, becoming the third Briton to break the barrier. In spite of this, Chambers remained some distance behind his North American counterparts.
Read more about this topic: Dwain Chambers, Biography
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