Ruth Chepng’etich, who shattered the women’s marathon world record last fall in Chicago by nearly two entire minutes, has officially been banned for anti-doping rules violations. The official sanction was announced on Thursday by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), stating the Kenyan will be banned for three years–but her world record will stand.
The AIU has banned Ruth Chepng’etich (Kenya) for 3 years from 19 April 2025 for the Presence/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Hydrochlorothiazide). DQ results from 14 March 2025.
Details here: https://t.co/RcCvVdqd59https://t.co/xMfjO7gxJshttps://t.co/juFqZJbebz pic.twitter.com/GxHB7RVUIS
— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) October 23, 2025
Chepng’etich, received a provisional suspension in July after the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide (HTCZ) was detected in a urine sample collected on March 14, 2025. “All Chepng’etich’s achievements and records pre-dating the 14 March 2025 sample stand,” AIU Head Brett Clothier said in the AIU press release.
The AIU reports that during her two initial interviews in April and again in early July, Chepng’etich could not provide an explanation for the positive tests. But on July 31, the athlete stated she had forgotten to report to the AIU that she had taken ill two days before the positive test and taken her housemaid’s medication to treat her symptoms, without checking if it contained a banned substance. The photo she sent of the medication package clearly marks the drug as ‘Hydrochlorothiazide’.
The standard sanction for HTCZ is two years, but the AIU deemed her behaviour in taking her housemaid’s medication “reckless,” thus increasing her sanction to four years. On August 22, 2025, Chepng’etich admitted the rule violations and accepted her sanction within 20 days, granting her an automatic reduction of one year due to the Early Admission and Acceptance of Sanction provision.
“The AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from Chepng’etich’s phone to determine if any other violations have occurred,” Clothier said.
