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

The record holder was temporarily banned in July following a positive test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic often utilized as a masking agent - on 14 March.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - including her world record performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in 2024 - will remain valid.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had sought a four-year suspension but the 31-year-old punishment was reduced to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

Nonetheless, the integrity unit will keep examining evidence from the athlete's mobile device which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been deliberate" - including messages from as early as 2022.

"This matter concerning the positive test for HCTZ has been settled, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material found on Chepngetich's device to determine if any other violations have taken place."

'No one is exempt from regulations'

When interviewed in the fourth month by the AIU, Chepngetich, the first woman to run a marathon in less than 2 hours 10 minutes, was unable to give an reason for the failed test.

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

Traces of the diuretic below the detection threshold were also identified in a sample taken from the runner two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, the record holder was shown the aforementioned questionable proof obtained from her phone. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the AIU.

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

The unit had "serious reservations about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' anti-doping regulations, such "carelessness" is considered "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

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

The 36-month suspension commenced on 19 April - when the athlete accepted a voluntary provisional suspension - with the runner's performances, honors, titles, participation and earnings since March 14 forfeited.

"No one is exempt from regulations."

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

"The road-running industry should be commended for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of revealing doping violations performed by elite athletes in their races."