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Female long-distance world record-holder the athlete has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan admitted to anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for a banned substance - a prohibited substance used commonly as a masking agent - on 14 March.

The athlete's accomplishments which pre-date that sample - including her world record time of 2:09:56 in Chicago in October 2024 - will still stand.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old punishment was reduced to three years because she admitted to the infractions.

However, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as the year 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for the substance has been resolved, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from Chepngetich's device to determine if any other violations have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month 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 failed test.

Although HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 ng/mL in urine, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

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

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

The athlete altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had used her domestic worker's medication - marked as being HCTZ - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after the runner confessed to the doping breaches inside the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, awards, championships, appearance and prize money since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

"Although disappointing 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 doping prevention capable of uncovering substance abuses committed by top competitors in their events."