The women’s marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepngetich, has been banned for three years after admitting to anti-doping rule violations. The Kenyan athlete failed a drugs test in March, meaning her record time from the 2024 Chicago Marathon will still stand. Despite the ban, the Athletics Integrity Unit will continue to investigate the 31-year-old over “suspicious material” found on her phone.
The women’s marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepngetich, has been banned for three years after admitting to anti-doping rule violations.
The Kenyan tested positive for the banned diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) in March and was provisionally suspended in July.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) rejected her claim that the failed test came from taking her housemaid’s medication after feeling ill.
The 31-year-old’s achievements from before the positive test will remain in place, meaning she will keep her world record time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds set in the Chicago Marathon in October last year.
The AIU wanted a four-year ban, but Chepngetich’s punishment was reduced to three after she admitted to the violations.
Despite resolving the case involving the positive HCTZ test, the head of the AIU, Brett Clothier, said they will “continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from Chepngetich’s phone to determine if any other violations have occurred”.
The evidence, including messages dating back to 2022, indicates “a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been intentional”, according to the AIU.
Chepngetich’s world-record run in Chicago last year saw her become the first woman to run a marathon in under 2:10.
The AIU’s chair David Howman said the case proved that “nobody is above the rules”.
“While disappointing for those who put their trust in this athlete, this is how the system is supposed to work,” Howman said.
“The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering doping violations committed by elite athletes in their events.”
Chepngetich, who won marathon gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, could not explain the positive test when she was interviewed by the AIU in April.
HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine. Chepngetich’s sample showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.
Traces below the minimal reporting level were also identified in a sample collected from Chepngetich in February.
During an interview in July, Chepngetich was informed about the suspicious evidence from her phone, while contamination had also been disproven by the AIU.
Later that month, she changed her explanation, claiming that she had taken her housemaid’s medication, which was marked as being HCTZ, after becoming ill.
The AIU had “serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events” and such “recklessness” is considered “indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies”.