Kenyan marathoner Ruth Chepng’etich, whose record of 2 hours 9 minutes and 56 seconds left tongues wagging with many doubting her has been slapped with a 3 year ban.
The ban will take effect from 19th April, 2025 to 14th March, 2028.
“Women’s marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepng’etich, has been banned for three years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), after admitting to Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) regarding the presence and use of Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ),” Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said.
This is after testing positive for prohibited substance hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). This drug is used to lower blood pressure by increasing urine output and hence is not permitted for use by athletes. Additionally, HCTZ can be used by athletes as a masking agent. This means it has the potential to conceal other prohibited substances.
AIU said that when initially interviewed by its investigators, on 16 April 2025, Chepng’etich could not provide an explanation for the positive test.
Because of the possibility of contamination of HCTZ by various drugs and supplements, the AIU collected evidence from her including detailed recollection of all the supplements and medications she had taken in the lead up to the positive test.
All available supplements and medications in her possession were also confiscated by the AIU for analysis.
To further do a thorough investigation, Chepng’etich’s mobile phone records was also copied for analysis. The AIU noted that through the analysis of the calls, they found out the possibility that the doping could have been intentional.
“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”, notes AIU.
Despite having previously declined knowing how she could have taken HCTZ, Chepng’etich changed her tune during a second interview. She said she had taken her househelp’s medications two days prior to the test.
“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 HCTZ,” notes AIU.