After leaving the Beijing Olympics in a blaze of glory, Jamaica has arrived at the World Championships burdened by infighting and a recent doping case.

The chaos surrounding the team will continue until at least Tuesday when the world athletics federation will decide whether five Jamaican athletes provisionally cleared of doping can take part in the championships.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) learned that Jamaica's Anti-Doping Commission will have a ruling on the issue by late Monday and said it will assess that decision and see if further action is necessary.

The federation could provisionally suspend the five if it rules that the doping infractions were serious enough.

The Jamaican Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA) has also sought to keep Olympic relay champion Asafa Powell and five others off the team in a dispute over their failure to attend a training camp.

Give in to the pressure

It caved in to pressure from the IAAF, which insisted the championships could not do without sprint stars like former 100-metre world record holder Powell, Olympic 100 champion Shelly-Ann Fraser and Melaine Walker, the 400m hurdles gold medallist in Beijing.

The six athletes will be running with the threat of sanctions hanging over them because a panel will assess their standing after the World Championships.

And as long as the doping issue surrounding five relay runners is not settled, it will also weigh on the team.

"The case of athletes testing positive is the most dreaded and fearful and stigmatised label that can be applied to any athlete, correctly so, absolutely so," JAAA president Howard Aris said. "We have had situations in the past, but not with the magnitude in terms of numbers."

One panel in Jamaica has cleared them for lack of evidence.

The athletes had tested positive for a substance that is similar in chemical structure to a banned stimulant.

The one outstanding star - Usain Bolt - has not been involved in either issue but is convinced it will not slow down the team. In Beijing, Bolt led the Jamaica team to a medal tally of six golds and 11 overall.

Third on the medal table

Jamaica finished third in the athle-tics medal table, an outstanding result for a nation of 2.8 million people.

"The level of expectation is even higher than before Beijing, but I am ready," Bolt said.

The 100 heats kick off the championships this morning with the final set for Sunday night. It is expected to be a tight race between Bolt and America's Tyson Gay.

Aris hopes the negative publicity surrounding the team will motivate his athletes.

"Sometimes out of adversity we can seize the opportunity to move faster and better," he said.