The British 400 metres runner Mark Richardson was suspended from competition by UK Athletics yesterday pending a disciplinary hearing.

Richardson, one of the few men ever to defeat Olympic champion and world record holder Michael Johnson over 400 metres, tested positive for nandrolone on October 27th when a random test found traces of the banned substance in a urine sample.

He appeared before a UK Athletics-appointed drug advisory committee last Friday, which considered whether there was evidence that a doping offence took place.

The committee decided there is a case for 27-year-old Richardson to answer and UK Athletics have therefore imposed a suspension.

There has been speculation the nandrolone could have appeared in Richardson's sample from the dietary supplements he uses.