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Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for three years after the Kenyan admitted to doping infractions.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic often utilized as a masking agent - on March 14.

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

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

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

"This matter regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the unit will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on the runner's phone to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

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

While the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's sample showed an approximate level of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also found in a test collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the AIU.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, stating that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being HCTZ - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month sanction applies".

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

The 36-month suspension started on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, awards, titles, participation and earnings since 14 March lost.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"Although unfortunate for those who had faith in this athlete, this is how the process is designed to operate."

"Marathon organizers should be praised for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations performed by top competitors in their races."