2 Saudi athletes banned for doping offenses

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) Saudia Arabia's 1,500-meter champion at the 2010 Asian Games has been banned for three years and stripped of his gold medal for doping.

The Saudi Arabia Anti-Doping Committee suspended Mohammed Shaween for abnormalities in his biological passport, which monitors an athlete's blood profile for signs of cheating.

The committee says all of Shaween's results from 2006 will be wiped out, meaning he will lose the gold he won at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China three years ago.

The Saudis also banned distance runner Hussain Al Hamda for 2 years for a biological passport violation. All his results since 2009 were annulled.