🔗 Share this article

Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the runner acknowledged doping rule violations.

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

Chepngetich's accomplishments which pre-date that test - including her global best performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had requested a 48-month suspension but the runner's penalty was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will continue to investigate proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - featuring messages dating back to 2022.

"This matter concerning the failed test for the substance has been settled, but the unit will continue to investigate the questionable evidence found on the runner's device to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the integrity body, the marathoner, the initial female to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give 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 HCTZ below the detection threshold were also identified in a sample collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a later interview on July 11, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the AIU.

Chepngetich altered her story on 31 July, stating that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - marked as being the banned substance - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

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

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's performances, awards, championships, appearance and prize money since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding anti-doping efforts able to revealing substance abuses performed by elite athletes in their races."