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Women's marathon world record-holder the athlete has been banned for 36 months after the runner confessed to doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic often utilized as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

Chepngetich's accomplishments which pre-date that test - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had requested a 48-month suspension but the runner's penalty was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate proof from the athlete's phone which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including messages from as early as 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for the substance has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the suspicious material recovered from Chepngetich's device to determine if any other violations have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, Chepngetich, the initial female to complete a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an reason for the positive test.

While the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, the athlete's test showed an approximate level of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also identified in a test collected from Chepngetich two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a later interview on July 11, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned questionable proof acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the authority.

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

The unit had "major doubts about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month sanction is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after Chepngetich confessed to the doping breaches within the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when the athlete accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the runner's results, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations committed by elite athletes in their races."