Young shot putter fails doping test

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.