Dwain Chambers will be told next week whether he is allowed to compete in the Beijing Games.

The sprinter and his legal team appeared at London's High Court today for a preliminary hearing of his appeal against a lifetime ban from competing in the Olympics due to a doping violation. They were told his case will be heard next Wednesday.

Chambers hopes to win a temporary injunction against the British Olympic Association (BOA) ban by proving that he could win his case at full trial, thus allowing him to compete in the 100 metres at Beijing next month. A full hearing on his case would then be held after the event.

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

Chambers still has to qualify for the Olympics by finishing first or second at the British trials in Birmingham this weekend. "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 - which is to cross the line first - and the rest will be left to the decision made next Wednesday."

Chambers' legal team filed court papers last week against the BOA, saying the bylaw preventing him from racing at an Olympics is unjust and an "unreasonable restraint of trade".

The BOA, however, 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," Colin Moynihan, the BOA chairman, said.

Chambers, who returned to the track this year after serving a two-year ban from 2003 to 2005, ran the quickest 100 metres by British sprinter this year when he crossed the line in 10.05sec at race in Sofia on June 30.

The 30-year-old was banned in August 2003 after testing positive for the steroid THG, the drug at the centre of the Balco scandal. He had all of his personal and team results from January 2002 to August 2003 annulled, including his European 100 metre title and European record of 9.87sec.