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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan acknowledged anti-doping infractions.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance often utilized as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that test - such as her global best performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year ban but the runner's punishment was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - featuring communications dating back to 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for the substance has been resolved, but the unit will continue to investigate the questionable evidence found on the runner's device to ascertain if any other violations have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the first woman to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an explanation for the positive test.

Although HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, the athlete's test showed an approximate level of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic under the minimal reporting level were also found in a test collected from Chepngetich two weeks earlier, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the AIU.

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

The unit had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping rules, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month sanction is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after the runner admitted the anti-doping rule violations inside the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension commenced on April 19 - when Chepngetich agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, honors, titles, appearance and earnings from March 14 lost.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"Although unfortunate for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the process is supposed to work."

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing substance abuses performed by top competitors in their races."