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Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for three years after the Kenyan confessed to anti-doping infractions.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for a banned substance - a prohibited substance often utilized as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

The athlete's achievements which pre-date that sample - including her global best time of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to 36 months because she confessed to the violations.

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

"The case concerning the failed test for the substance has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into 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 questioned in April by the AIU, Chepngetich, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

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

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

At a later interview on July 11, the record holder was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her mobile. In the meantime, 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 HCTZ - after falling sick two days before the positive test.

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

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after the runner confessed to the doping rule violations inside the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension started on April 19 - when Chepngetich agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, awards, championships, appearance and earnings from March 14 forfeited.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"While disappointing for those who had faith in this runner, this is how the process is designed to operate."

"Marathon organizers should be praised for collectively funding anti-doping efforts able to uncovering substance abuses performed by top competitors in their races."