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

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

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

The sports governing body had sought a four-year 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 evidence from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been intentional" - including communications dating back to the year 2022.

"The case concerning the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from Chepngetich's phone to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the AIU, Chepngetich, the initial female to complete a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an explanation for the failed test.

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

Small amounts of the diuretic under the minimal reporting level were also identified in a sample collected from the runner two weeks earlier, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the previously mentioned suspicious evidence obtained from her mobile. Meanwhile, contamination had also been ruled out by the AIU.

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

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the athletics' anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after Chepngetich admitted the anti-doping rule violations inside the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the runner's results, awards, titles, appearance and prize money since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"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 doping prevention capable of revealing doping violations committed by elite athletes in their races."