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Female long-distance world record-holder the athlete has been prohibited for three years after the Kenyan confessed to doping rule violations.

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 14 March.

Chepngetich's accomplishments which pre-date that test - such as her world record performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to three years because she admitted to the violations.

However, the integrity unit will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications dating back to the year 2022.

"The case concerning the positive test for HCTZ 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 occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the initial female to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an explanation for the positive test.

Although HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, the athlete's sample showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the minimal reporting level were also identified in a test collected from the runner two weeks earlier, on February 28.

At a later interview on 11 July, Chepngetich was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. Meanwhile, contamination had also been disproven by the AIU.

The athlete changed her explanation on July 31, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after becoming ill two days before the failed test.

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

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after Chepngetich admitted the doping breaches inside the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension commenced on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from 14 March lost.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

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

"Marathon organizers should be praised for jointly supporting doping prevention capable of uncovering doping violations committed by top competitors in their events."