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Female long-distance world record-holder the athlete has been prohibited for 36 months after the Kenyan acknowledged doping infractions.

The record holder was provisionally suspended in July following a failed test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a prohibited substance often utilized as a concealing drug - on March 14.

The athlete's achievements which pre-date that sample - such as her global best performance of 2:09:56 in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had sought a 48-month ban but the 31-year-old punishment was lowered to 36 months because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the AIU will keep examining proof from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been intentional" - featuring communications dating back to the year 2022.

"This matter concerning the failed test for the substance has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence found on Chepngetich's phone to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, Chepngetich, the initial female to run a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an reason for the positive test.

While HCTZ has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in samples, Chepngetich's test showed an estimated concentration of 3,800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic under the detection threshold were also identified in a sample collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on July 11, Chepngetich was shown the previously mentioned questionable proof obtained from her mobile. Meanwhile, contamination had also been ruled out by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on 31 July, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the positive test.

The unit had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the framework of the athletics' anti-doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month penalty applies".

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

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's performances, awards, championships, appearance and earnings from March 14 lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"Although disappointing for those who had faith in this athlete, this is how the process is supposed to work."

"Marathon organizers should be commended for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of revealing substance abuses performed by elite athletes in their events."