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Women's marathon global champion the athlete has been suspended for 36 months after the runner acknowledged anti-doping infractions.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in the seventh month following a positive test for a banned substance - a prohibited substance used commonly as a masking agent - on 14 March.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - such as her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in October 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had sought a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to 36 months because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the AIU will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's mobile device which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including messages dating back to 2022.

"The case regarding the positive test for the substance has been settled, but the unit will continue to investigate the questionable evidence recovered from Chepngetich's phone to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in the fourth month 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.

Although the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 ng/mL in urine, the athlete's test showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

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

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned questionable proof acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been disproven by the authority.

Chepngetich changed her explanation on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The AIU had "major doubts about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the sport's doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an increased four-year sanction is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping breaches inside the specified 20-day period.

The 36-month suspension commenced on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, awards, titles, participation and prize money from March 14 lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding doping prevention able to uncovering substance abuses committed by elite athletes in their events."