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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for three years after the Kenyan acknowledged doping rule violations.

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

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

The sports governing body had sought a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to 36 months because she admitted to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications from as early as the year 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for HCTZ has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence found on the runner's phone to determine if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an explanation for the failed test.

While HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 ng/mL in urine, Chepngetich's test showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of HCTZ under the minimal reporting level were also identified in a sample taken from the runner two weeks earlier, on February 28.

At a later interview on 11 July, the record holder was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete changed her explanation on July 31, stating that she had used 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 sport's doping rules, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an increased four-year penalty is applicable".

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

The 36-month suspension started on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, titles, appearance and earnings since 14 March lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

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