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Female long-distance global champion the athlete has been prohibited for 36 months after the Kenyan acknowledged doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance often utilized as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

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

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

However, the AIU will continue to investigate proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - featuring communications from as early as 2022.

"This matter regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been settled, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on Chepngetich's phone to determine if any other violations have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, 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 the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, Chepngetich's sample showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

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

At a later interview on 11 July, the record holder was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete changed her explanation on 31 July, claiming that she had used her housemaid's medication - marked as being the banned substance - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the revised account" and, in the framework of the athletics' doping regulations, such "recklessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after Chepngetich admitted the anti-doping rule violations within the 20 days required.

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, honors, championships, participation and earnings from 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"Marathon organizers should be commended for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering doping violations committed by top competitors in their races."