British sprinter Dwain Chambers departs from the High Court in central London [GALLO/GETTY]

Chambers went to the High Court to appeal against a British Olympic Association bylaw that bans athletes with doping violations from all future games.

Judge Colin Mackay scheduled the case to be heard next Wednesday.

If Chambers can show he could win a case of "unreasonable restraint of trade'' at a full trial, the judge likely would issue an injunction to let him run in the 100 metres at the August 8-24 Olympics.

The deadline for team selection is July 20.

"Friday and Saturday, that's when the job really matters,'' Chambers said outside the court.

"It's going to be a hard task but I'm confident in what I'm capable of doing at my end, which is to cross the line first, and the rest will be left up to the decision that's made next Wednesday.''

Chambers still has to qualify for the Olympics by finishing first or second at the British trials in Birmingham this weekend.

He ran 10.05 seconds in Sofia, Bulgaria, on June 30, the fastest time among British sprinters this year.

"He will pass that with flying colors,'' Mackay told the court. "If he doesn't, the case becomes academic.''

If Chambers wins the injunction, a full hearing on his challenge against the BOA rule would then be held later in the year or next year.

"We're delighted,'' said Chambers' lawyer, Nick Collins. "We will respect and abide by the court's decision.''

The BOA said it will argue that Chambers' challenge would not succeed at a full trial.

"We will continue at that hearing to vigorously defend the bylaw and to now bring the witnesses we wanted to bring under cross-examination that's necessary to defend that bylaw,'' BOA chairman Colin Moynihan said.

The 30-year-old Chambers returned to the track this year after serving a two-year doping ban from 2003-05.

He tested positive for the steroid THG, the drug at the center of the BALCO scandal, in August 2003.

All of Chambers' personal and team results from January 2002 to August
2003 were annulled, including his European record of 9.87 seconds.

Jana Rawlinson after winning the Women's 400m Hurdles Final [GALLO/GETTY]

Meanwhile, world champion hurdler Jana Rawlinson was ruled out of the Beijing Olympics because of toe and related injuries just hours after she was selected for her third Australian Olympic Games team.

Rawlinson, who won the 400-metre hurdles world championships in 2003 and 2007 and was Australia's best chance of a track gold at Beijing, appeared to be on the road to recovery in Poland last week when she competed for the first time in nine months.

"I'm very upset because the Olympic Games has always been a dream of mine, but I'm trying to remain positive and I'm looking beyond the Olympics to other challenges,'' she said.

Rawlinson said she had exhausted all medical options.

"I haven't been able to train for more than two days straight over the past 26 weeks, so I'm not arrogant enough to think that on that basis I'd be able to compete at the Olympics,'' she said.

"I can't remember the last time I was able to wake up in the morning first thing ... without being in pain.''

Rawlinson, 25, will now switch her focus to next year's world championships in Berlin, where she will be aiming to be the first Australian runner to win three world titles.

Further down the track, the 2012 London Olympics are also on the agenda.

"I love my sport too much to end on this note so I can definitely say that I will be setting my sights on the next goal which will hopefully be the world championships next year,'' she said.

Rawlinson's manager, James Ward, earlier told The Associated Press that other injuries stemming from a toe injury, including Achilles and calf ailments, meant she would not be competing in China.

"Her time in Poland was her slowest in eight years,'' Ward said.

"She's done very little training since then, and when she trained on Tuesday, she couldn't run in a straight line.''

Devastating

Rawlinson won her 2003 title as Jana Pittman and went into the Athens Olympics as one of the favorites, but finished fifth after sustaining a knee injury in training.

"It is devastating for her,'' Ward said.

"She's very unlucky to have had this happen two Olympics in a row. Both times she's had to battle injuries. She gave it every opportunity, but it's not going to happen.''

Rawlinson was among a 41-member athletics team announced Wednesday that includes world 50-kilometre walk world champion Nathan Deakes.

She won her second world title last August at Osaka, Japan eight months after giving birth to her first child, Cornelis.

Jane Saville, 20-kilometre walk bronze medalist at the Athens Games, will be going to her fourth Olympics.

Australia's other medal chances include former world No. 1 pole vaulter Steve Hooker and Craig Mottram in the 5,000 metres.

Athletics Australia national performance manager Max Binnington said he had high expectations for the team, but made no medal predictions.

"Those athletes who have been there before or been very successful in world championships, we want to see them certainly top eight and being a real chance to medal,'' Binnington said.