Long-distance running Record Holder Chepngetich Receives 36-month Suspension

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

The record holder was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic often utilized as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's accomplishments which pre-date that test - including her world record time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year ban but the runner's punishment was reduced to three years because she admitted to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will continue to investigate evidence from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including messages dating back to the year 2022.

"The case regarding the positive test for the substance has been settled, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from the runner's device to determine if any other violations have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, Chepngetich's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the detection threshold were also found in a sample taken from the runner 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was shown the previously mentioned questionable proof acquired from her phone. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the authority.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had used her housemaid's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The unit had "major doubts about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' anti-doping rules, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping rule violations inside the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, championships, appearance and earnings from March 14 lost.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"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 jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to uncovering substance abuses committed by top competitors in their events."