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Women's marathon world record-holder the athlete has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan admitted to anti-doping infractions.

The record holder was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance often utilized as a masking agent - on March 14.

The athlete's accomplishments which pre-date that sample - such as her world record time of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a 48-month ban but the runner's punishment was lowered to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

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

"The case regarding the positive test for the substance has been resolved, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on the runner's device to determine if any further infractions 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, could not provide an reason for the positive test.

Although the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's test showed an approximate level of 3,800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the detection threshold were also found in a sample taken from Chepngetich two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a later interview on July 11, the record holder was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on July 31, stating that she had used her housemaid's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping rules, such "recklessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after the runner confessed to the doping breaches inside the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from 14 March lost.

"No one is above the rules."

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

"Marathon organizers should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations committed by top competitors in their events."