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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for three years after the runner confessed to anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance often utilized as a masking agent - on March 14.

Chepngetich's accomplishments which occurred before that test - including her world record performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in October 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had sought a 48-month suspension but the runner's punishment was reduced to three years because she confessed to the violations.

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's mobile device which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as 2022.

"The case regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence found on Chepngetich's device to ascertain if any further infractions have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, 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.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's test showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

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

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was shown the aforementioned questionable proof acquired from her mobile. Meanwhile, contamination had also been disproven by the AIU.

The athlete changed her explanation on 31 July, stating that she had taken her housemaid's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick two days before the positive test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping rules, such "recklessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month sanction is applicable".

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

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, awards, titles, participation and prize money from 14 March forfeited.

"No one is above the rules."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to uncovering doping violations committed by top competitors in their events."