Women’s marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich has been provisionally suspended after a positive doping test on Thursday.
Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said Chepngetich tested positive for a banned diuretic and masking agent in March and “opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU’s investigation was ongoing.”
The Kenyan runner set the world record by almost two minutes at the Chicago Marathon last October in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds. It was her third win in Chicago.
She also won the marathon at the 2019 world championships in Qatar, where the women’s race started at midnight to avoid extreme daytime heat.
The substance Chepngetich tested positive for, hydrochlorothiazide or HCTZ, can be used to disguise the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The substance, a diuretic, was detected in a sample collected from the Kenyan athlete on March 14th, the AIU said in a statement on Thursday.
“Chepngetich was not provisionally suspended by the AIU at the time of notification, however, on 19 April, she opted for a voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU’s investigation was ongoing,” said AIU head Brett Clothier.
“In the intervening months, the AIU continued its investigation and today issued a Notice of Charge and imposed its own provisional suspension.”
Chepngetich smashed the women’s marathon record in Chicago last October, running two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds to become the first woman to break 2:10.
In April, Chepngetich withdrew from the London Marathon, saying at the time she was “not in the right place mentally or physically” to race her best.
