Qatari middle-distance runner given two-year doping ban

MONACO (AP) Qatari middle-distance runner Hamza Driouch was suspended for two years by the IAAF on Tuesday for a doping violation.

The 20-year-old Driouch was sanctioned to Dec. 30, 2016, for irregularities in his biological passport.

Driouch will be ineligible for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

He competed in the 1,500 meters at the 2012 London Olympics but failed to make the final, and won the event at the junior world championships in 2012.

Also, anomalies in Hussain Jamaan Alhamdah's biological passport led to the suspension of the Saudi Arabia runner. The IAAF ruled the 5,000-meter specialist was ineligible to compete for two and a half years, but the 31-year-old received a retroactive ban that will allow him to return to competition on Aug. 14.