🔗 Share this article

Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been prohibited for three years after the runner admitted to anti-doping rule violations.

The record holder was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic used commonly as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

Chepngetich's accomplishments which pre-date that sample - including her global best performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a 48-month suspension but the runner's penalty was lowered to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

Nonetheless, the AIU will continue to investigate proof from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications dating back to 2022.

"This matter regarding the positive test for the substance has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into the suspicious material found on Chepngetich's device to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in April by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the initial female to run a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an reason for the failed test.

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

Small amounts of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also found in a sample taken from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a later interview on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned questionable proof acquired from her phone. In the meantime, accidental exposure 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 two days before the positive test.

The unit had "major doubts about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the context of the athletics' doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty applies".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after Chepngetich admitted the anti-doping rule violations within the 20 days required.

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, awards, titles, participation and prize money since 14 March lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"Marathon organizers should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering substance abuses performed by elite athletes in their events."