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Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan confessed to doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance used commonly as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

Chepngetich's achievements which occurred before that sample - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had sought a 48-month ban but the runner's penalty was reduced to 36 months because she confessed to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's mobile device which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as 2022.

"The case concerning the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from Chepngetich's phone to determine if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, the marathoner, the initial female to run a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an explanation for the failed test.

While HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 ng/mL in urine, Chepngetich'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 subsequent meeting on 11 July, the record holder was presented with the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the authority.

Chepngetich changed her explanation on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her housemaid's pills - 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 revised account" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after the runner admitted the anti-doping rule violations within the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension started on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the runner's results, awards, titles, appearance and earnings since March 14 lost.

"No one is above the rules."

"Although disappointing for those who put their trust in this athlete, this is how the process is supposed to work."

"Marathon organizers should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to revealing doping violations performed by top competitors in their races."