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

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

The athlete's achievements which occurred before that sample - such as her global best time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested a 48-month suspension but the runner's penalty was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - including communications dating back to the year 2022.

"This matter concerning the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from the runner's phone to determine if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in the fourth month by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the initial female to run a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

Although the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

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

At a later interview on July 11, the record holder was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her mobile. Meanwhile, contamination had also been ruled out by the AIU.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - marked as being HCTZ - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

The unit had "major doubts about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the athletics' anti-doping regulations, such "recklessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping rule violations inside the specified 20-day period.

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

"Nobody is above the rules."

"While disappointing for those who had faith in this athlete, this is how the system is designed to operate."

"The road-running industry should be praised for collectively funding doping prevention capable of revealing doping violations committed by elite athletes in their races."