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

The record holder was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for a banned substance - a prohibited substance used commonly as a concealing drug - on 14 March.

Chepngetich's achievements which pre-date that sample - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old punishment was lowered to three years because she confessed to the violations.

However, the AIU will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's mobile device which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including messages from as early as 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for the substance has been settled, but the unit will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on the runner's device to ascertain if any further infractions have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in April by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to run a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an explanation for the positive test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in samples, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also identified in a sample collected from the runner two weeks earlier, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was presented with the previously mentioned suspicious evidence obtained from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the AIU.

The athlete changed her explanation on 31 July, claiming that she had used her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being HCTZ - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the revised account" and, in the context of the sport's anti-doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was applied after the runner admitted the doping rule violations inside the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension commenced on April 19 - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, honors, titles, participation and earnings since March 14 forfeited.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

"Although unfortunate for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the system is designed to operate."

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing substance abuses performed by top competitors in their events."