Gothenburg: British sprinter Dwain Chambers crashed out of the European Indoor Championships on Friday after he failed to negotiate the 60m heats.
The 34-year-old ran 6.78sec to finish fifth in his heat, with only the top four progressing.
An angry Chambers exited the stadium without speaking to the media.
The Londoner, who served a two-year drugs ban after being caught using the designer steroid THG in 2003, fought a lengthy battle to run in the Olympics on home ground last year, but he failed to qualify from the semi-finals.
There were four golds decided on the opening day of the championships on Friday, with France’s Antoinette Nana Djimou taking the pentathlon title for the second time.
“Really, I am happier even than I was two years ago when I won in Paris,” said the Cameroon-born athlete, who is also the European outdoor heptathlon champion after capturing gold in Helsinki last year.
“I will stop competing in June, that will give me two full months to prepare for the world championships in Moscow [August 10-18].”
Elsewhere, Russia’s Sergei Shubenkov (7.49sec) edged out Italy’s Paolo Dal Molin for gold in the men’s 60m hurdles.
Turkey’s Nevin Yanit won the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.89sec, the best indoors in Europe this season, with the double European 110m hurdles champion beating Alina Talay of Belarus and Veronica Borsi of Italy.
The men’s shot went to Serbia’s Asmir Kolasinac with a throw of 20.62m. Kolasinac, the bronze medallist outdoors in Helsinki, saw off Bosnia’s Hamza Alic and Ladislav Prasil of the Czech Republic.
