A STAGGERING 33 drug cheats from the USA who were scheduled to be banned from next year’s Olympics will now be eligible to compete at the London showpiece.

That is after a court declared an International Olympics Committee (IOC) ban to be unlawful.

As a result, this will also open the door for hundreds of athletes from across the world, who would have previously been banned, to take part.

American 400m sprinter, who won gold in his event in 2008, won a case in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday after challenging the IOC’s rule 45 which states that anyone banned for a doping offence for six months or more should miss the next Olympics - even if their suspension has expired.

The British Olympic Association’s (BOA) stance of a lifetime Olympic ban for this country’s drug cheats still stands but now that could be under threat also and any change could pave the way for sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar to compete.

BOA chairman Lord Moynihan said: “I will do everything in my power to make sure that the eligibility bylaw remains in place, with the full support of the athletes who consistently over 20 years have sought to ensure that we have a clean team competing cleanly at the Games.

“It is a sorry day for the IOC, (IOC president) Jacques Rogge has fought ever since he came into sport to eradicate doping in sport and I’m sure he will very much regret this rule will not be in place for London 2012.

“I’m very confident that the ruling significantly strengthens our position - we are fully compliant with the WADA code and that is vitally important.

“Our bylaw’s aim is to exclude those who wilfully cheat, it’s tough but it is fair.

“It has a strong appeal mechanism to ensure all individual circumstances are taken into account, and those who inadvertently or unintentionally make a mistake.

“We have reviewed the CAS findings published this morning and have agreed to write to the IOC and seek their endorsement to have the eligibility rules in place to determine who we select to represent our country.”