Marathon Record Holder Chepngetich Given Three-Year Suspension

Female long-distance world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan acknowledged anti-doping rule violations.

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

The athlete's accomplishments which pre-date that test - such as her world record performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a 48-month suspension but the runner's punishment was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will continue to investigate proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - featuring communications from as early as the year 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for the substance has been settled, but the AIU will continue to investigate the questionable evidence found on the runner's device to determine if any other violations have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an reason for the failed test.

Although the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic under 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 presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been ruled out by the authority.

Chepngetich altered her story on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's medication - marked as being HCTZ - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the context of the sport's doping rules, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after the runner confessed to the doping breaches within the specified 20-day period.

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

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding doping prevention able to uncovering doping violations performed by top competitors in their races."