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Female long-distance global champion the athlete has been suspended for three years after the Kenyan confessed to doping infractions.

The record holder was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on March 14.

The athlete's achievements which pre-date that test - such as her world record time of 2:09:56 in Chicago in October 2024 - will still stand.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a four-year suspension but the runner's punishment was lowered to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

Nonetheless, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been intentional" - including messages dating back to 2022.

"This matter concerning the positive test for the substance has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into the suspicious material found on the runner's device to determine if any other violations have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in the fourth month by the AIU, 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 the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in samples, Chepngetich's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also identified in a sample taken from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. Meanwhile, contamination had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had used her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being HCTZ - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year sanction is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after Chepngetich confessed to the doping breaches within the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the runner's performances, honors, championships, participation and earnings from March 14 forfeited.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"Marathon organizers should be commended for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of revealing substance abuses committed by elite athletes in their races."