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Women's marathon global champion the athlete has been banned for three years after the Kenyan admitted to anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on 14 March.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had sought a 48-month ban but the runner's penalty was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

However, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's mobile device which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as 2022.

"The case regarding the positive 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 taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

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

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic under the minimal reporting level were also identified in a test collected from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the AIU.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her housemaid's medication - marked as being the banned substance - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the positive test.

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

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

The three-year ban started on 19 April - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, honors, titles, appearance and earnings since March 14 lost.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

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

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