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Female long-distance global champion the athlete has been suspended for 36 months after the Kenyan admitted to anti-doping infractions.

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

Chepngetich's accomplishments which pre-date that test - including her world record time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in 2024 - will still stand.

The sports governing body had sought a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old punishment was reduced to three years because she admitted to the violations.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will continue to investigate proof from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages from as early as 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from the runner's device to determine if any further infractions have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

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

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

Small amounts of the diuretic under the minimal reporting level were also found in a test collected from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, Chepngetich was presented with the previously mentioned suspicious evidence obtained from her phone. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the AIU.

Chepngetich altered her story on 31 July, stating that she had taken her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being HCTZ - after falling sick 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's doping regulations, such "recklessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies".

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

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, titles, participation and earnings from March 14 forfeited.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

"Although unfortunate for those who put their trust in this athlete, this is how the process is designed to operate."

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering substance abuses committed by top competitors in their races."