The shot putters, considered to be serious contenders for a place in Britain's team at the London 2012 Olympics, were charged by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) following their refusal to undertake an out-of-competition test at Loughborough University on in January.

The incident led to Capes being stripped of his role as a coaching mentor for England Athletics.

Capes, famous for being the World’s Strongest Man and an iconic athletics figure from the Seventies, was relieved of his position after two athletes attending a coaching day for shot putters refused to take a test when approached by officials of Britain’s new anti-doping agency, UKAD.

The World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) code allows for a member of an athletes' entourage, including a coach, to be suspended if it is suspected that they are involved.

But UKAD have told insidethegames that they do not plan to take any action against Capes, a two-time Commonwealth shot put champion who held the British record for 23 years.

A spokeswoman told insidethegames: "At this time the only sanctions applied are to the athletes."

A third athlete coached by Capes, Rachel Wallader, Britain's fifth-ranked shot putter, is currently provisionally suspended following a positive test for a minor stimulant methylhexanamine allegedly contained in an over-the-counter supplement.

Capes has admitted giving her the supplement after, he claims, being given "categorical assurance" by the drug company that supplied it that it was perfectly legal.

Kelly, 24, and Stevenson, 20, ranked third and fifth in Britain last year, admitted the charge of avoiding an out-of-competiton test and accepted the consequences.

Their suspensions are due to end on February 8, 2012, but they will not be eligible for the London Games as, under the rules of the British Olympic Association (BOA), any athletes guilty of an anti-doping violation are banned for life from representing the country in the Olympics.

Niels de Vos, the chief executive of UK Athletics, said: "This must serve as a warning to all athletes, both funded and non-funded, of the importance of co-operating with UK Anti-Doping at all times without exception.

"We will continue to work with UK Anti-Doping to ensure absolute compliance with our anti-doping commitment that athletics must be and must be seen to be a drug free sport in the UK.

Kelly (pictured), a member of Newham and Essex Beagles, finished second in last year’s Aviva World Trials and UK Championships and had a season’s best of 19.02 metres indoors.

Stevenson, also from Newham, had a best last year of 17.85m.

He won England Athletics age-group and Inter-Counties titles last season and competed for Britain at the 2008 World Junior Championships.

They were both part of a squad formed by Capes, now a magistrate and an award-winning budgerigar breeder, to find shot putters to represent Britain in the 2012 London Olympics.

Capes, the former British shot putter, represented his country a record 67 times and won the Commonwealth title in 1974 and 1978.

Capes, a former policeman, had joined up with the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership in June 2008 to launch his scheme for 2012 and was hoping  to find a thrower capable of reaching the Olympic shot put final in London.

Andy Parkinson, the chief executive of UKAD, said: "The case involving these two athletes is a stark reminder that all elite sportsmen and women must seriously consider the implications of not providing a sample on request.

"Others need to learn from the mistake made by these two athletes and realise that one wrong decision in the heat of the moment can have significant consequences on both their career and their reputation."

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February 2010: Geoff Capes stripped of coaching role after athletes refuse drugs tests
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