Long-distance running Champion Ruth Chepngetich Handed 36-month Suspension

Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the runner admitted to anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic used commonly as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's achievements which occurred before that sample - such as her global best performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had sought a four-year suspension but the runner's punishment was lowered to 36 months because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the AIU will keep examining proof from the athlete's mobile device which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including communications from as early as the year 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for the substance has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence found on Chepngetich's phone to determine if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the initial female to complete a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an explanation for the failed test.

While the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, Chepngetich's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

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

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was shown the aforementioned questionable proof obtained from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been ruled out by the AIU.

Chepngetich changed her explanation on July 31, claiming that she had used her housemaid's medication - labeled as being HCTZ - 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 athletics' doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month sanction is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after the runner admitted the doping breaches within the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, awards, titles, participation and earnings since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

"Although unfortunate for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the system is supposed to work."

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations performed by elite athletes in their races."