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Female long-distance world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the runner admitted to doping rule violations.

The record holder was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic used commonly as a concealing drug - on March 14.

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

The sports governing body had sought a 48-month suspension but the 31-year-old penalty was reduced to three years because she confessed to the violations.

However, the AIU will keep examining proof from the athlete's mobile device which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been intentional" - featuring messages dating back to 2022.

"This matter concerning the positive test for the substance has been settled, but the AIU will continue to investigate the questionable evidence found on the runner's phone to ascertain if any other violations have taken place."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, the marathoner, the first woman to run a marathon in under 2:10, 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, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Small amounts of HCTZ under the detection threshold were also identified in a test taken from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on 28 February.

At a later interview on July 11, Chepngetich was presented with the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, contamination had also been disproven by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on July 31, stating that she had used her housemaid's pills - labeled as being HCTZ - after falling sick two days before the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the athletics' doping rules, such "recklessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction is applicable".

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

The 36-month suspension commenced on April 19 - when the athlete agreed to a voluntary provisional suspension - with the competitor's results, awards, championships, appearance and prize money from 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."

"Marathon organizers should be praised for collectively funding doping prevention capable of revealing doping violations performed by top competitors in their events."