Women's marathon world record holder provisionally suspended for doping

The diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was detected in a urine sample collected from Kenyan Chepngetich on March 14, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a statement.

On Thursday, she was provisionally suspended after the test result was reported to the AIU on April 3.

Chepngetich opted for a "voluntary provisional suspension" on April 19 "while the AIU's investigation was ongoing", the unit said.

"In the intervening months, the AIU continued its investigation and today issued a notice of charge and imposed its own provisional suspension," AIU head Brett Clothier said on Thursday.

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The Kenyan runner, 30, broke the world record to win the Chicago Marathon in October 2024 with a time of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds.

Chepngetich's time in Chicago beat Ethiopian Tigst Assefa's previous record set at the 2023 Berlin Marathon by nearly two minutes.

HCTZ is used clinically to treat fluid retention and hypertension and is prohibited under the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code.

It can also be used to disguise the use of performance-enhancing drugs

HCTZ has a minimum reporting level of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine. Chepngetich's sample showed 3,800 ng/mL.