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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been prohibited for three years after the Kenyan acknowledged anti-doping infractions.

The record holder was provisionally suspended in July following a failed test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance used commonly as a masking agent - on 14 March.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - such as her world record time of 2:09:56 in Chicago in October 2024 - will still stand.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a 48-month suspension but the runner's penalty was lowered to 36 months because she confessed to the violations.

However, the AIU will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been intentional" - including messages from as early as the year 2022.

"The case concerning the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the unit will continue to investigate the questionable evidence found on the runner's device to ascertain if any further infractions have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an explanation for the positive test.

While the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 ng/mL in samples, Chepngetich's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the minimal reporting level were also identified in a sample collected from the runner 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. In the meantime, contamination had also been disproven by the AIU.

The athlete altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being HCTZ - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's doping regulations, such "carelessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping rule violations within the 20 days required.

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's results, honors, titles, participation and earnings since March 14 forfeited.

"No one is above the rules."

"While disappointing for those who put their trust in this athlete, this is how the process is supposed to work."

"The road-running industry should be praised for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of revealing substance abuses committed by elite athletes in their races."