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Female long-distance world record-holder the athlete has been banned for 36 months after the Kenyan admitted to doping rule violations.

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

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

The sports governing body had requested a four-year ban but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to three years because she admitted to the violations.

However, the AIU will keep examining evidence from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found indicate "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring communications dating back to 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for the substance has been resolved, but the unit will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from Chepngetich's phone to determine if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When questioned in April by the AIU, Chepngetich, the initial female to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an explanation for the positive test.

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

Small amounts of HCTZ below the minimal reporting level were also found in a sample collected from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a later interview on 11 July, the record holder was presented with the aforementioned questionable proof acquired from her phone. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the authority.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, stating that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the positive test.

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

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

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, titles, appearance and earnings since March 14 lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"Marathon organizers should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to uncovering substance abuses performed by top competitors in their events."