Ruth Chepngetich, the ladies’s marathon world report holder, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after testing constructive for a banned substance.
The diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was detected in a pattern collected from Kenyan Chepngetich on 14 March, the AIU stated in an announcement., exterior
Chepngetich, 30, broke the world report to win the Chicago Marathon in October 2024, clocking a time of two hours, 9 minutes and 56 seconds.
HCTZ is used clinically to deal with fluid retention and hypertension and is prohibited always underneath the World Anti Doping Company (WADA) code.
Chepngetich’s time in Chicago surpassed Ethiopian Tigst Assefa’s earlier report set on the 2023 Berlin Marathon by practically two minutes.
Used generally as a masking agent, HCTZ has a minimal reporting stage of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine. Chepngetich’s pattern confirmed 3,800 ng/mL.
Chepngetich was not provisionally suspended by the AIU on the time of notification on 16 April. Nonetheless, on 19 April, she opted for a voluntary provisional suspension whereas the AIU’s investigation was ongoing.
“Within the intervening months, the AIU continued its investigation and right this moment issued a discover of cost and imposed its personal provisional suspension,” AIU head Brett Clothier stated.
