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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been prohibited for 36 months after the runner admitted to anti-doping infractions.

The record holder was provisionally suspended in July following a failed test for a banned substance - a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent - on March 14.

Chepngetich's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - including her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had sought a 48-month suspension but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to three years because she confessed to the infractions.

However, the AIU will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's phone which it found suggest "strong grounds that her failed test may have been intentional" - including messages dating back to the year 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for the substance has been settled, but the unit will keep looking into the questionable evidence recovered from the runner's device to determine if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

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

While 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.

Small amounts of the diuretic under the detection threshold were also identified in a sample taken from Chepngetich two weeks earlier, on 28 February.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, the record holder was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her mobile. In the meantime, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the AIU.

The athlete changed her explanation 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 failed test.

The AIU had "serious reservations about the credibility of the new version of events" and, in the context of the athletics' doping rules, such "recklessness" is deemed "indirect intent, for which an longer 48-month penalty is applicable".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after the runner admitted the doping rule violations inside the 20 days required.

The three-year ban started on April 19 - when Chepngetich agreed to a temporary ban - with the runner's results, awards, championships, appearance and earnings since March 14 lost.

"Nobody is exempt from regulations."

"While unfortunate for those who put their trust in this runner, this is how the system is supposed to work."

"The road-running industry should be praised for jointly supporting anti-doping efforts capable of uncovering doping violations performed by top competitors in their events."