Just a year ago, at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, Ruth Chepng’etich stormed through the finish line in a jaw-dropping 2:09:56 and became the fastest woman ever over 26.2 miles. But a year later, that record now stands in the shadows of a controversy. Ruth Chepng’etich has been handed a three-year ban for testing positive for a banned substance, Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).

HCTZ is a chemical that is marked as a banned diuretic or masking agent by AIU. Yet, despite the doping violation, Chepng’etich’s record remains untouched. Why so? Because the Hydrochlorothiazide was found in her samples in an unsafe amount months after she ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon to shatter the world record. But a new chapter in the story is igniting fierce debate across the athletics world. A chapter that might make World Athletics strip her of the crown.

What happened to Ruth Chepng’etich?

It all started a few months after she clocked 2:09:56 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. In the very next year, she started her season with the Lisbon Half Marathon. She finished the race in 1:06:20. But just five days after the Lisbon Marathon, on March 14 of 2025, HCTZ was found in her urine sample, and the approximate concentration was about 3800 ng/ml, while the safe limit is marked at 20 ng/ml.

Following that report, in April 2025, Chepng’etich was interviewed by the Athletics Integrity Unit. In the same month, she withdrew from the London Marathon, claiming that she was not physically and mentally fit enough to compete. The AIU then launched an immediate investigation. And by July 2025, the two-time Chicago Marathon champion was provisionally suspended before sh was handed a three-year suspension this week after admitting to the violation. Had she not, she could have received a 4-year ban.

During the interrogation, the Kenyan athlete failed to give a considerable explanation in her defense. She later claimed the positive test stemmed from an unfortunate mix-up. Her explanation demanded that she had accidentally taken medication meant for her housemaid without being aware of its composition. 

When are world records normally taken away after a doping dan?

Under World Athletics and WADA rules, any doping violation proven to have occurred before or during a competition automatically leads to the disqualification of results from that period. But despite the same, the rules also state that if the consumption of the banned substance takes place after a record-setting performance, earlier results typically stand. However, that’s unless investigators uncover evidence of prolonged or systematic doping.

For Ruth Chepng’etich’s case, the positive test for Hydrochlorothiazide came from a sample collected on March 14, 2025, which was months after she ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon. Thus, all results and honors from that date onward have been annulled but her world record still stands. The AIU explicitly explained in their statement that “all of Chepng’etich’s results and records achieved before March 14, 2025 remain valid.” However, further investigations are still in progress, and a few recent updates hint at a darker phase for the Kenyan runner.

Why did Ruth Chepng’etich keep her world record?

It was back on October 13, 2024, when Ruth Chepng’etich etched her name in history by securing the world record in the Chicago Marathon. Exactly five months after that, she competed in the Lisbon Marathon of 2025. And soon after her appearance at the Lisbon Marathon, her samples tested positive for an unsafe amount of Hydrochlorothiazide. Interrogation and analysis followed suit.

During the interview in April 2025, right after she tested positive, she failed to explain herself. In that very same month, samples of her supplements and medicines were collected by authorities for further investigation. Three months later, it was confirmed that her supplements and medicines did not contain any banned substances. In another interrogation in July 2025, Chepng’etich stated to her defence that she consumed her househelp’s medicines while she was unwell without checking their composition.

However, such an explanation was considered vague and reckless by AIU. On August 22, 2025, Ruth Chepng’etich was issued a four-year ban.  But within twenty days, the Kenyan runner accepted her fault, which reduced the ban to three years. While her admission earned her a reduced sanction, it hasn’t stopped the storm of scrutiny surrounding her once-celebrated world record.

Why some fans and experts disagree

Fans have been raging after such an update made the headlines. While Chris Chavez from Citius Mag reported the details of the investigation on X, track coach Rod Murrow stated, “BAN. KENYA. NOW. It’s long overdue. Zero meaningful controls. It’s like the Wild West of doping.” 

On the other hand, another Kenyan runner and coach, Justin Lagat, added, “If her phone was taken and a forensic investigation was done, then it would be great if we had tangible information. Like the names of people who send her the messages, the source of images in her phone, etc. People should be in prison now, instead of us just getting half-baked information. What exactly were in the texts? Who send the texts?” Kenya has seen a recent rise in doping bans among its athletes, fueling growing skepticism about the legitimacy of some of its records. And it further makes the debate continue over fairness and trust in the sport.

Could her record be removed in the future?

 A recent report from AIU revealed another update that might now put her World Record at stake. AIU got hold of a chat screenshot where Ruth Chepng’etich is allegedly involved in a conversation with another athlete regarding “testosterone vials” that works. Adding to that, another image was found, which was a vial and a box of Anavar, which is another drug marked as banned by AIU. 

All this was found after the investigators seized a forensic copy of Ruth’s phone for analysis. Chepng’etich voiced her defense, saying that she wasn’t involved in the acts and that the screenshots were taken by accident. More so she added how the image of the box of Anavar got saved from a group chat.

Such a report might turn out to be threatening for Chepng’etich as the screenshots of the conversation and image date back to April 2024, which is six months before she came to run the 2024 Chicago Marathon, where she broke the World Record. While now her World Record stills stands, if further investigations finds her guilty on this ground, it would impact her world record.

Chepng’etich’s world record still stands because her doping violation happened months after the performance, in line with World Athletics’ anti-doping rules. Nevertheless, the situation sparks ethical and reputational questions about fairness and credibility in elite long distance running.