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

The record holder was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on March 14.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - such as her global best time of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had requested a 48-month suspension but the runner's punishment was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the AIU will keep examining evidence from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been intentional" - featuring messages from as early as the year 2022.

"The case concerning the failed test for HCTZ has been settled, but the AIU will keep looking into the suspicious material found on the runner's device to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the AIU, the marathoner, the initial female to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

While HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, the athlete's test showed an approximate level of 3800 ng/mL.

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

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

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had used her housemaid's pills - marked as being the banned substance - after becoming ill two days before the positive test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the reliability of the revised account" and, in the framework of the athletics' doping regulations, such "recklessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month sanction applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after Chepngetich confessed to the anti-doping rule violations within the specified 20-day period.

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when Chepngetich agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's performances, awards, championships, appearance and prize money since March 14 forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to revealing doping violations committed by elite athletes in their races."