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Female long-distance global champion the athlete has been suspended for three years after the runner confessed to anti-doping infractions.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in the seventh month following a positive test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic often utilized as a masking agent - on March 14.

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

The sports governing body had requested a 48-month ban but the runner's penalty was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the infractions.

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

"The case concerning the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence found on Chepngetich's device to ascertain if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in April by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to complete a marathon in under 2:10, was unable to give an explanation for the failed test.

While the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of HCTZ below the detection threshold were also identified in a sample collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, the record holder was shown the previously mentioned questionable proof acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been ruled out by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, claiming that she had used her housemaid's pills - labeled as being HCTZ - after becoming ill two days before the positive test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the credibility of the revised account" and, in the framework of the sport's doping rules, such "recklessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

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

The 36-month suspension started on April 19 - when Chepngetich agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from March 14 forfeited.

"No one is above the rules."

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

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