Chepngetich world marathon record holder gets 3 years dope ban, says she took housemaid’s medication

23.10.2025
Women’s marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been banned for three years after the Kenyan admitted to anti-doping rule violations.
Chepngetich was provisionally suspended in July following a positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) – a banned diuretic used commonly as a masking agent – on 14 March.
Chepngetich’s achievements which pre-date that sample – including her world record time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in Chicago in October 2024 – will still stand.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) confirmed the ban in a statement on Thursday, stating Chepngetich had admitted to the violations and accepted the charges and sanction.
Chepngetich, 31, was provisionally suspended by the AIU in July after testing positive for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) on March 14. She claimed the positive test had come about after she had taken her housemaid’s medication when ill without knowing it contained a banned substance.
HCTZ, a diuretic that is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned list, was found in a sample of Chepngetich’s urine collected five days after she finished second in the Lisbon Half Marathon with a time of one hour, six minutes, 20 seconds.
HCTZ is used to reduce the amount of water in the body by increasing the flow of urine and can be used to mask the presence of other banned substances. Agency report