Women’s marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepng’etich has been banned from competition for three years after admitting to Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) involving the banned diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).
However, Chepng’etich’s record of 2:09:56, set at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, will remain on the books as it was set before her positive test, as per a statement from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The 31-year-old Kenyan, a former World marathon champion and a three-time winner of the Chicago Marathon, accepted the charges and sanction following a positive test for the banned diuretic from a sample on 14 March this year and a subsequent AIU investigation into the circumstances.
“Whilst diuretics are known to be abused by athletes to mask the presence in urine of other Prohibited Substances, HCTZ has also been identified as a potential contaminant in pharmaceutical products. It has been ascribed by WADA a minimum reporting limit of 20ng/ml, below which a positive test should not be reported. An estimated concentration of 3800ng/mL of HCTZ was found in the positive urine sample of Chepng’etich,” stated the AIU.
Chepng’etich was provisionally suspended in July this year by the AIU after Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was detected in a sample collected from the athlete on March 14.
“When initially interviewed by AIU investigators, on 16 April 2025, Chepng’etich could not provide an explanation for the positive test. At this time, to rule out the possibility of contamination, evidence was collected from her including her detailed recollection of all the supplements and medications she had taken in the lead up to the positive test, and all available supplements and medications in her possession were immediately retained by the AIU for analysis,” added the AIU.
“Chepng’etich’s mobile phone was also copied for analysis. At a subsequent interview, on 11 July 2025, Chepng’etich was confronted with evidence acquired from her mobile telephone indicating a reasonable suspicion that her positive test may have been intentional. She was also informed that all the supplements and medications that had been taken for analysis had been reported by a WADA-accredited laboratory as negative for HCTZ. Chepngetich maintained her position at this second interview that she could not explain the positive test and that she had never doped.
“On 31 July 2025, Chepng’etich changed her previous explanation. She wrote to the AIU to state that she now recalled that she 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. She stated that she had forgotten to disclose this incident to the AIU investigators. She sent a photo of the medication blister pack which clearly marked the medication as being ‘Hydrochlorothiazide’.”
The AIU said Chepng’etich’s actions were reckless and indirectly intentional rather than accidental, initially applying a four-year sanction. However, Chepngetich’s early admission earned her a one-year reduction, resulting in a three-year ban issued on September 10.
“The case regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from Chepngetich’s phone to determine if any other violations have occurred,” AIU head Brett Clothier said.
“In the meantime, all Chepng’etich’s achievements and records pre-dating the 14 March 2025 sample stand.”
