The Qatari mid-distance runner won a silver medal in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore and took gold in the 1,500m at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona.[2]
Driouch is a Moroccan citizen, he moved to Qatar in 2010 with his brother, who was then looking for a job in the Gulf State. His father being deceased, his elder brother Ibrahim was looking after him. Hamza Driouch subsequently obtained Qatari nationality, Although the fact that the Qatari nationality must be obtained after 20 years of residence in Qatar but it was not the case with Driouch. Additionally, Hamza was granted the Qatari nationality before reaching age of 18.[3]
Driouch made his Olympic debut for Qatar at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He qualified for London with an 'A' standard time of 3:34.50 in the Men's 1500m.[4]
In February 2015 it was announced that Driouch had been banned from athletics for 2 years for abnormalities in his biological passport profile.[5] His results from 2 August 2012 and onwards were annulled,[6] which included his results from the semi-final at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[7] Before and during the London Summer Olympics, Hamza Driouch was coached by Jama Aden.[8][9]
A possible explanation for the more than 28 month long delay of Driouch doping ban is provided by the WADA Independent commission report #2[10] where it says:
"...as a result of the internal frictions, although no passport cases were brought forward by the IAAF, the data was still being collected as a result of the testing program. Dollé`s employment was terminated in September 2014. This seemed to unlock the situation at the IAAF. In December 2014, the IAAF engaged the APMU [Athlete Passport Management Unit] associated with the WADA accredited laboratory in Montreal to manage its blood ABP [Athlete Biological Passport] program.
The laboratory official in charge of the function reviews all passports on an anonymous basis, with all atypical passports sent, without delay, to an independent expert for review..."
The date matches well the dates for Driouch doping ban. 'Dollé' is Gabriel, at the time IAAF anti-doping head, who during 2015 was put under investigation accused of corruption.[11]
