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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for 36 months after the Kenyan admitted to doping infractions.

The record holder was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on March 14.

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

The sports governing body had requested a 48-month ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "strong grounds that her failed test may have been intentional" - including messages dating back to 2022.

"The case concerning the failed test for HCTZ has been settled, but the unit will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on Chepngetich's device to ascertain if any further infractions have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the first woman to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

While the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, the athlete's test showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of HCTZ under the detection threshold were also found in a test collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

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

Chepngetich changed her explanation on July 31, stating that she had used her domestic worker's pills - marked as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after the runner admitted the anti-doping rule violations inside the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, titles, appearance and prize money since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to revealing substance abuses performed by top competitors in their events."