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Women's marathon world record-holder the athlete has been suspended for three years after the Kenyan acknowledged doping rule violations.

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

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

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

However, the AIU will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including messages dating back to 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from the runner's device to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the initial female to run a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an reason for the positive test.

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

Traces of the diuretic under the detection threshold were also identified in a sample collected from the runner 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a later interview on July 11, Chepngetich was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. In the meantime, contamination had also been ruled out by the authority.

The athlete changed her explanation on 31 July, claiming that she had used her housemaid's pills - marked as being the banned substance - after falling sick two days before the failed test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the credibility of the revised account" and, in the context of the athletics' doping rules, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after Chepngetich admitted the doping rule violations inside the specified 20-day period.

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

"No one is exempt from regulations."

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

"Marathon organizers should be commended for jointly supporting doping prevention capable of uncovering doping violations performed by elite athletes in their events."