Young shot putter fails doping test

(GETTY IMAGES)

UK Athletics confirmed yesterday that shot putter Rachel Wallader has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned stimulant methylhexanamine.

The 20-year-old, ranked fifth in Britain this summer with a best putt of 15.31m, gave a positive urine sample after competing at the British Universities Championships in Bedford on 1 May.

She faces a ban of up to two years, although five Jamaican sprinters who tested positive for the same stimulant last summer all received suspensions of just three months. A statement from UK Athletics said: "The athlete now has the opportunity to respond to the charge against her, including the right to a full hearing of the case."

Wallader – who won the British Universities title and finished third in last month's Inter Counties Championships – is the third athlete coached by Geoff Capes, the former British shot putt record-holder, to fall foul of the anti-doping laws this year. In January, Kieren Kelly and Jamie Stevenson were provisionally suspended for allegedly refusing out-of-competition drug tests. They face disciplinary hearings today.

Capes has already claimed responsibility for Wallader's positive test, saying he provided her with a nutritional supplement called Endure, which he maintains he had been assured was perfectly legal.