Marathon Record Holder Ruth Chepngetich Handed 36-month Suspension

Women's marathon world record-holder the athlete has been banned for 36 months after the runner admitted to anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic often utilized as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

Chepngetich's accomplishments which occurred before that test - such as her global best time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year suspension but the runner's penalty was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as 2022.

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

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the positive test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in samples, Chepngetich's sample showed an approximate level of 3,800 ng/mL.

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

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete changed her explanation on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's medication - marked as being HCTZ - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year sanction is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after the runner confessed to the anti-doping breaches inside the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension started on April 19 - when Chepngetich accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the runner's results, honors, championships, appearance and prize money since 14 March lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"While unfortunate for those who had faith in this athlete, this is how the process is supposed to work."

"The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding doping prevention able to uncovering substance abuses performed by elite athletes in their events."