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Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan confessed to doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in the seventh month following a failed 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 test - such as her global best performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had requested a four-year suspension but the runner's punishment was reduced to three years because she admitted to the violations.

However, the integrity unit will continue to investigate evidence from Chepngetich's phone which it found indicate "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including communications from as early as the year 2022.

"The case concerning the positive test for the substance has been settled, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from the runner's phone to ascertain if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, could not provide an reason for the failed test.

While the substance has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, Chepngetich's test showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of the diuretic under the detection threshold were also found in a sample taken from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the previously mentioned questionable proof obtained from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, stating that she had used her housemaid's medication - marked as being HCTZ - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the framework of the sport's anti-doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after the runner confessed to the doping rule violations inside the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban commenced on April 19 - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, awards, titles, participation and earnings since 14 March forfeited.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"While disappointing for those who had faith in this runner, this is how the process is designed to operate."

"Marathon organizers should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations performed by elite athletes in their races."