Marathon World Record Holder Banned for Three Years After Positive Doping Test

Women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepngetich has been handed a three-year ban after a positive doping test.

Back in July, Chepngetich, 31, was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after testing positive for a banned substance.

As reported by the BBC, diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was detected in a sample from Chepngetich on March 14.

HCTZ is often used to treat fluid retention and hypertension; however, it is also prohibited at all times under the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code.

On Thursday, it was confirmed that Chepngetich had been banned for three years, backdated to April 19.

According to NBC Sports, the Kenyan accepted the three-year ban after admitting to doping violations.

The report suggested that an AIU investigation found evidence from her phone which indicated 'a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been intentional'.

It has been claimed that Chepngetich was interviewed on April 16 and July 11, but failed to explain the positive test while stating that she never doped.

However, on July 31, Chepngetich reportedly changed her explanation.

According to the AIU, the athlete 'had taken ill two days before the positive test and she had taken her housemaid’s medication as treatment, without taking any steps to verify if it contained a prohibited substance'.

Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years. Image: Getty

A statement from the AIU added: "While the AIU considered her new explanation to be hardly credible, for the purposes of the anti-doping rules (ADR), it did not assist in mitigating the standard two-year sanction for a specified substance such as HCTZ.

"To the contrary, the ADR treats the type of recklessness described by Chepngetich in taking her housemaid’s medication as being indirect intent, for which an increased four-year sanction applies."

Chepngetich's four-year ban was reduced to three after she admitted to the violation and accepted the ban within 20 days.

Last October, Chepngetich broke the marathon world record after running a stunning time of 2:09.56, and despite the ban, The Times claimed that her time remains in the record books for now as she was caught using a banned substance months after the race.