London ? British sprinter Dwain Chambers was suspended for two years Tuesday and banned for life from the Olympics because he tested positive for the steroid THG.

The European 100-meter champion is the first athlete banned for use of THG, a previously undetectable steroid unmasked last year.

THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone, is the substance involved in the scandal surrounding a San Francisco-area laboratory. Four people, including Chambers’ coach and the personal trainer of slugger Barry Bonds, were indicted this month.

UK Athletics said Chambers’ ban would last until Nov. 7, 2005. Under British Olympic Assn. rules, he also is barred from ever competing in the Olympics.

Chambers has 60 days to appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, the track federation said.

Chambers, who finished fourth in the 100 at the 2000 Sydney Games, had been considered a potential gold medal contender at the Athens Olympics in August.

The 25-year-old runner tested positive in an out-of-competition screening Aug. 1 in Germany. He maintained he never knowingly took a banned substance.