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Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for 36 months after the runner confessed to doping infractions.

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

Chepngetich's accomplishments which pre-date that test - including her world record performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a 48-month ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to three years because she confessed to the violations.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as 2022.

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

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the integrity body, the marathoner, the initial female to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an reason for the positive test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in samples, the athlete's test showed an approximate level of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of HCTZ below the detection threshold were also found in a test taken from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. In the meantime, contamination had also been disproven by the AIU.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, stating that she had taken her housemaid's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the positive test.

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

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

The 36-month suspension commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, championships, participation and earnings since March 14 lost.

"No one is above the rules."

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

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to revealing doping violations performed by top competitors in their races."