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Women's marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for three years after the Kenyan confessed to anti-doping infractions.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a failed test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic 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 the Chicago event in 2024 - will still stand.

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

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate evidence from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages dating back to the year 2022.

"The case regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the suspicious material found on Chepngetich's device to determine if any other violations have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an explanation for the positive test.

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

Traces of the diuretic below the minimal reporting level were also identified in a test collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, the record holder was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the AIU.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, stating that she had used her housemaid's medication - marked as being HCTZ - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The unit had "major doubts about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' anti-doping rules, such "recklessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after Chepngetich admitted the doping rule violations inside the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's results, awards, titles, participation and earnings from 14 March lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering substance abuses committed by top competitors in their events."