Marathon Record Holder Ruth Chepngetich Given 36-month Ban

Female long-distance world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been prohibited for 36 months after the Kenyan confessed to anti-doping rule violations.

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

Chepngetich's achievements 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 remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a 48-month ban but the runner's penalty was lowered to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including messages from as early as 2022.

"The case concerning the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into the suspicious material found on the runner's phone to determine if any other violations have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

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

Although HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 ng/mL in urine, the athlete's test showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic below the minimal reporting level were also found in a test collected from the runner 14 days prior, on February 28.

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

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's medication - marked as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after the runner admitted the doping rule violations within the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when Chepngetich agreed to a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, honors, championships, appearance and prize money since March 14 forfeited.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"While unfortunate for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the process is supposed to work."

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting doping prevention able to revealing substance abuses performed by elite athletes in their events."