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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the runner admitted to anti-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 concealing drug - on March 14.

Chepngetich's achievements which occurred before that test - such as her global best time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to 36 months because she confessed to the violations.

However, the integrity unit will keep examining evidence from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - including communications dating back to the year 2022.

"The case concerning the positive test for HCTZ has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the suspicious material recovered from Chepngetich's phone to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in April by the integrity body, the marathoner, the first woman to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an explanation for the positive test.

Although HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 ng/mL in samples, the athlete's sample showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also identified in a test taken from the runner 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was shown the previously mentioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the authority.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, stating that she had used her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being HCTZ - after becoming ill two days before the positive test.

The unit had "major doubts about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping rules, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was applied after the runner confessed to the anti-doping breaches within the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, honors, championships, participation and prize money from March 14 lost.

"No one is above the rules."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding doping prevention able to revealing doping violations committed by elite athletes in their events."