Richardson nightmare still not over

Mark Richardson will have to sweat before he finds out whether he can ever achieve his dream of again competing at the Olympic Games.  

Richardson's two-year ban has been lifted under the International Amateur Athletic Federation's 'exceptional circumstance' rule.

But technically he remains guilty of a drugs offence and as such is not allowed to compete in an Olympic Games, under the British Olympic Association's hard-line regulations.

"We have already been in contact with the BOA and I'm hoping that they will recognise, like the IAAF has, that Mark's is a special case and deserves special consideration," said Richardson's manager Mike Whittingham.

Last year two athletes who had recorded adverse findings applied to the BOA and succeeded in overturning their lifetime Olympic bans because the appeal panel decided their cases were 'minor'. Only swimmer Mike Fibbens has had his appeal dismissed.

Richardson has always claimed he never knowingly took the banned steroid nandrolone, blaming contaminated food supplements for the positive result, recorded nearly two years ago.

Now he is warning fellow athletes never to touch controversial supplements.

"My life has not been my own since October 1999. I was not in control and I was lost - it was a horrible feeling," said Richardson.

"My advice to other athletes is simple - never ever take supplements because you are playing Russian roulette with your career.

"I would not touch them with a barge pole now. In fact since I've stopped taking supplements there has been no deterioration in my form."

Richardson is back on the road to recovery after struggling throughout the winter season with an Achilles injury, but he could be back in action in just seven days - as a member of Britain's 4x400metre relay quartet at the European Cup in Bremen.

He is also planning a first solo run in Glasgow earlier next month, as a guest runner in the Great Britain versus United States match.

"There has been times when I've thought 'why bother to train'. I thought 'what is the point, I've got nothing to aim for'. Thankfully I kept the faith," he added.

"I'm not as fit as I would like to be. I expect to be competitive and I know there is business to be done this season.

"However, what I've learned from this whole experience is you should not look too far down the road."