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

The record holder was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance often utilized as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

The athlete's achievements which occurred before that test - such as her world record performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will still stand.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a 48-month ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will continue to investigate proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including communications dating back to the year 2022.

"This matter regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the unit will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from the runner's device to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in the fourth month by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an explanation for the positive test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's sample showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the detection threshold were also found in a test collected from Chepngetich two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the previously mentioned questionable proof acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been ruled out by the AIU.

The athlete changed her explanation on 31 July, stating that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - marked as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The unit had "major doubts about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' anti-doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year penalty is applicable".

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

The 36-month suspension commenced on April 19 - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, honors, titles, appearance and prize money from 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."

"Marathon organizers should be praised for jointly supporting doping prevention able to revealing substance abuses performed by top competitors in their events."