ATHLETICS:British ahtlete Dwain Chambers admits he could quit athletics if he cannot make it pay financially in 2009. As a result of his two-year drug ban, Chambers is currently barred from competing in over 50 meetings organised by the Euro Meetings Group including those staged in Britain.
The 30-year-old is also burdened by having to repay to the International Association of Athletics Federations over €105,000 pounds he earned during the period he was using the banned substance THG, beginning in 2002.
UK Athletics (UKA) have now welcomed the sprinter back into the fold after unsuccessfully preventing him competing in a British vest at last year's World Indoor Championships where he shared the 60metres silver medal.
That will see the Londoner initially bid for a place in the national side for the European Indoor Championships in March and then the World Championships in August.
But Chambers is hard up and must start earning cash in the next few months, otherwise he will have to retire from the track.
"I'm able to continue competing as long as my lady is still in a job," Chambers told PA Sport. "I have no one other than Leonie supporting me."
Chambers is currently searching for money paying races, particularly in Europe, and continued: "The duration of my career will depend on how well I'm treated by the meet promoters.
"But it's not going to be easy. If I can't earn anything next year then I'll have to seriously consider finding some other kind of living."
However, he insists that although he is banned from competing at Olympic level after his drug offence, he will try every possible avenue to continue.
Chambers was Europe's quickest 100m sprinter last summer and he has been hammering out the training in his bid to bring more medals home for the Norwich Union GB side at next year's major championships.
Chambers said: "I plan opening my season at the Birmingham Games in January, then the trials as I want to run in the European Indoors and at the World Championships in the summer.
"I'm the man - I want to win medals for my country. I can achieve that and get the job done."
Meanwhile he is hoping to have a meeting with UKA chief executive Niels de Vos and see if there is any possibility of competing in the Aviva-sponsored British meetings.
"I'll try and arrange a meeting with Niels de Vos in the New Year and we'll see what happens."