Claiming he is a forgiving man, British sprinter Dwain Chambers is back at work with Victor Conte, the man responsible for the doping scandal which meted him a two-year ban. “I am a forgiving man,” he said adding that, “I have forgiven him. I do not blame him for anything that occurred during that period. I ruined my career, nobody else did that.” Conte has put together a new regimen for Chambers which simulates altitude training, and increases the blood’s oxygen capacity. Called the “AltoLab Altitude Simulator”, the oxygen device has the athlete breathing high and low oxygen through a hypoxicator. This increases the red blood cell count of the athlete which also greatly helps in endurance runs.

Altitude training is nothing new, and has been used before in different disciplines. It should be noted that some high-end training areas are located at high altitudes. Extended stay and practice at high altitudes increases the red blood cells. There have been instances of athletes increasing their red blood cells by drawing their own blood, refrigerating it and then re-injecting themselves with the drawn blood prior to competition. This practice is illegal in international competition.

Chambers, under the supervision of Conte, is using the hi-tech breathing device to boost his oxygen capacity. The device is legal under World Doping Agency rules. Describing his device, Conte said, “This is the wave of the future. Everyone used to think (simulated altitude training) was all about endurance athletes. No one thought of applying this to explosive sprinting.” Chambers praised the program, and told British media that “this allows me to have a deeper training load. I suffer less lactic acid, delivering more oxygen to the muscles. It’s a shame we didn’t know this five years ago.”

In his autobiography, “Race Against Me: My Story,” which was released Monday, Chambers wrote that he took more than 300 different drugs and other banned substances after he came under Conte’s wings in 2002. He won at the recently concluded European indoor championships in Turin, Italy. In the semifinals, he ran the 60 meters in a European record time of 6.42 seconds. Although there have been speculations about his fast times, he asserts that he is running clean.

However, he has been excluded from the British team running, specifically in the 4×100 meter relay. This was due to “long-term considerations rather than the short term benefit of a potential medal.” “They can believe what they want,” he said. “I am following the procedures. I get routinely drug-tested. I have no reason to be going down that road again. Based on my experience, there is no need. The information they require from me about when to test, I ask Victor for that and I give it to the relevant bodies,” he also added.

Chambers’s earlier connection with Conte resulted in him testing positive for THG in 2003, a previously undetectable steroid. He served a two-year suspension for the infraction. Other top-class athletes who were connected with Conte in the BALCO scandal included Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Barry Bonds. Conte pleaded guilty and was meted four months imprisonment. Despite the scandal, Chambers has been close to Conte. He considered his relationship with Conte as something on an “educational basis.”

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