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Women's marathon global champion the athlete has been suspended for three years after the runner admitted to doping infractions.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in the seventh month following a failed test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on 14 March.

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

The sports governing body had sought a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including messages dating back to 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for HCTZ has been settled, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from the runner's device to determine if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned 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 explanation for the failed test.

Although the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's test showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the detection threshold were also found in a sample collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. In the meantime, contamination had also been ruled out by the AIU.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, stating that she had used her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick two days before the failed test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

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

The three-year ban started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's results, awards, championships, participation and prize money from 14 March lost.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"While 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 praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering substance abuses committed by elite athletes in their races."