He won the 100 m at the Commonwealth Games trials in a season's best of 10.03 s, then equalled Linford Christie's record of 10.04 s at European Cup, where he led the British team to victory as team captain. Victories over Maurice Greene followed at Oslo's IAAF Golden League meeting and in Sheffield with a wind-assisted 9.95 s. He was the favourite for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, but Chambers faced stiff competition from British newcomer Mark Lewis-Francis who was finishing fractions of a second behind him. Chambers won all his preliminary races and reached the final, along with Lewis-Francis and Jason Gardener, but he suffered a cramp mid-race and ended up in last place. The English sprinters had the three slowest times in the final, with Lewis-Francis also beset by injury.