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Women's marathon global champion the athlete has been suspended for three years after the runner acknowledged anti-doping rule violations.

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.

Chepngetich's achievements which occurred before that sample - such as her global best time of 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024 - will still stand.

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

However, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications from as early as the year 2022.

"This matter concerning the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will keep looking into the suspicious material found on Chepngetich's device to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an reason for the failed test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, the athlete's test showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic under the detection threshold were also identified in a test collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a later interview on July 11, the record holder was shown the previously mentioned questionable proof obtained from her mobile. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the AIU.

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

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the revised account" and, in the context of the sport's doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping breaches within the 20 days required.

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, honors, titles, participation and prize money since March 14 forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

"While disappointing for those who put their trust in this athlete, this is how the system is designed to operate."

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