Long-distance running Record Holder Chepngetich Receives 36-month Suspension

Women's marathon global champion the athlete has been prohibited for three years after the Kenyan confessed to anti-doping infractions.

The record holder was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic used commonly as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's achievements which pre-date that sample - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in 2024 - will still stand.

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

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including communications dating back to 2022.

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

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the positive test.

Although the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, Chepngetich'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 28 February.

At a later interview on July 11, the record holder was presented with the previously mentioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the authority.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, stating that she had used her housemaid's pills - marked as being the banned substance - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the context of the sport's doping rules, such "recklessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after Chepngetich admitted the anti-doping breaches inside the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, honors, championships, appearance and prize money since March 14 forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

"While unfortunate for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the process is designed to operate."

"Marathon organizers should be commended for collectively funding doping prevention capable of uncovering substance abuses committed by top competitors in their events."