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Female long-distance global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the Kenyan acknowledged anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned 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 achievements which occurred before that sample - including her world record performance of 2:09:56 in Chicago in 2024 - will still stand.

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

However, the integrity unit will keep examining evidence from Chepngetich's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - including messages from as early as 2022.

"The case regarding the failed test for the substance has been resolved, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on the runner's device to ascertain if any other violations have occurred."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When questioned in the fourth month by the integrity body, Chepngetich, the first woman to complete a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the positive test.

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

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

At a later interview on 11 July, Chepngetich was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. Meanwhile, contamination had also been disproven by the AIU.

Chepngetich altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had taken her domestic worker's pills - labeled as being the banned substance - after falling sick two days before the positive test.

The unit had "major doubts about the credibility of the revised account" and, in the context of the athletics' anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year penalty is applicable".

An standard 12-month decrease was granted after Chepngetich admitted the anti-doping breaches within the 20 days required.

The 36-month suspension commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich agreed to a temporary ban - with the competitor's results, awards, championships, participation and prize money from 14 March forfeited.

"No one 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 commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts able to revealing doping violations performed by top competitors in their events."