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

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

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that test - such as her global best performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024 - will still stand.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages dating back to the year 2022.

"This matter concerning the positive test for the substance has been resolved, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from Chepngetich's device to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in the fourth month by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an reason for the failed test.

Although HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, Chepngetich's test showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic below the minimal reporting level were also identified in a sample taken from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was presented with the previously mentioned questionable proof acquired from her phone. In the meantime, contamination had also been disproven by the authority.

Chepngetich changed her explanation on 31 July, stating that she had used her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being HCTZ - after falling sick two days before the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

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

The three-year ban commenced on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from March 14 lost.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"While disappointing 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 collectively funding doping prevention capable of uncovering doping violations committed by elite athletes in their races."