According to the AIU, the 31-year-old athlete admitted to anti-doping rule violations involving the presence and use of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a banned diuretic that can be used to mask performance-enhancing substances. The positive result came from a sample collected on March 14, and Chepng’etich was provisionally suspended in July.
Chepng’etich’s world record performance at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, where she clocked 2:09:56, remains valid because it occurred before the date of the positive test.
While HCTZ is sometimes detected as a contaminant in legitimate medications, the AIU noted that the substance is also widely abused to hide other prohibited drugs. When first questioned in April, Chepng’etich could not explain the result. However, during a second interview in July, investigators confronted her with evidence from her mobile phone suggesting that her positive test “may have been intentional.”
In a letter to the AIU dated July 31, Chepng’etich revised her initial explanation. She stated that she had fallen ill two days before the sample was collected and had taken her housemaid’s medication without checking its contents. She later submitted a photo of the blister pack, which was clearly labeled as containing hydrochlorothiazide.
The AIU said her actions amounted to “indirect intent” under anti-doping regulations, a category applied when an athlete’s recklessness leads to ingestion of a prohibited substance. Such violations typically carry a four-year ban, but Chepng’etich received a one-year reduction after accepting the sanction within 20 days of its proposal.
“The case regarding the positive test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will continue to investigate the suspicious material recovered from Chepng’etich’s phone to determine if any other violations have occurred,”
— Brett Clothier, AIU Head
AIU Chair David Howman described the ruling as a reminder that “nobody is above the rules,” stressing that the sport’s integrity relies on accountability at every level.
Chepng’etich, who also won the 2019 World Championships marathon in Doha, has been one of Kenya’s standout distance runners in recent years. Her suspension is another blow to Kenyan athletics, which has seen a rising number of doping cases despite increased domestic testing and education initiatives.
The AIU’s ongoing investigation into Chepng’etich’s communications could determine whether further sanctions are warranted. For now, she remains ineligible to compete until 2028, marking a major setback in a career that once redefined women’s marathon running.