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Women's marathon world record-holder the athlete has been banned for three years after the Kenyan acknowledged doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on March 14.

Chepngetich's achievements which occurred before that sample - such as her world record performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024 - will still stand.

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

However, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications from as early as the year 2022.

"This matter regarding the positive test for the substance has been settled, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from the runner's phone to ascertain if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an reason for the failed test.

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

Traces of HCTZ under the minimal reporting level were also identified in a sample collected from Chepngetich two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

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

Chepngetich altered her story on 31 July, stating that she had used her housemaid's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping regulations, such "carelessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after Chepngetich confessed to the doping breaches inside the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, honors, championships, participation and earnings since March 14 forfeited.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"Although disappointing for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the system is designed to operate."

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