Chepng'etich Accepts Charges Following Positive Test Of Prohibited Substance After Breaking Women's World Record At 2024 Chicago Marathon In 2:09:56

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Women's marathon world record holder Ruth Chepng'etich has been banned for three years by the Athletics Integrity Unit Thursday after admitting to a doping violation.

The 31-year-old Kenyan, who broke the world record at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, clocking 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds, accepted the charges following a positive test for the use of Hydrochlorothiazide, or HCTZ, from a sample on March 14, 2025 according to a statement by the AIU. Chepng'etich's world record will stand because her positive test was collected in March of 2025, whereas her world record was run in October of 2024.

HCTZ, known as the "water pill", treats high blood pressure and fluid retention but can also be used as a diuretic and mask the presence in urine of prohibited substances. The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) allows a legal limit of 20ng/ml. An estimated 3,800ng/ml was found in the positive urine sample from Chepng'etich the AIU stated.

On April 16, 2025, Chepng'etich initially couldn't provide an explanation for the positive test.

On July 11, 2025, in another interview, evidence from a text thread indicated reasonable suspicion that Chepng'etich's positive test may have been intentional according to an AIU findings report.

20 days later, Chepng'etich wrote to the AIU saying she was ill two days before her positive test and had taken her housemaid's medication to help treat her. She sent a photo of the medication marked as being "Hydrochlorothiazide".

The AIU considered her new explanation to be "hardly credible". Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) described Chepng'etich's actions taking her housemaid's medication were "indirect intent", therefore increasing her sanction to four years. Chepng'etich admitted to the ADR violation on Sept. 10 and was granted an automatic one-year reduction. 

“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. In the meantime, all Chepng’etich’s achievements and records pre-dating the 14 March 2025 sample stand,” said AIU Head Brett Clothier in a released statement.