Marathon Record Holder Chepngetich Given 36-month Suspension

Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the runner acknowledged anti-doping rule violations.

The record holder was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a failed test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic used commonly as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's achievements which occurred before that sample - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a 48-month ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to three years because she confessed to the violations.

However, the AIU will continue to investigate proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including communications from as early as the year 2022.

"This matter regarding the positive test for the substance has been settled, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence found on Chepngetich's phone to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in the fourth month by the AIU, the marathoner, the initial female to run a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

While the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, the athlete's test showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of HCTZ below the minimal reporting level were also identified in a test taken from the runner 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. Meanwhile, contamination had also been ruled out by the authority.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, stating that she had taken her housemaid's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping rules, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping rule violations within the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension started on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from 14 March lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"Although unfortunate for those who had faith in this athlete, this is how the system is designed to operate."

"Marathon organizers should be praised for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations committed by elite athletes in their races."