“The world record is not easy. You need focus and determination,” Ruth Chepngetich had said in October 2024, after she became the first woman to break the 2:10 barrier with a time of 2:09:56 at the Chicago Marathon. It was a landmark achievement that drew widespread attention and acclaim. Now, less than a year later, Chepngetich finds herself under a different kind of scrutiny. Recent developments have brought fresh attention to her career, questions currently surrounding her victories…

When Ruth Chepngetich made the world record last year, she smashed the previous record by one minute and 57 seconds. But while Ruth became the first woman ever to go sub 2:10s that day, allegations about whether her record was even possible had started going around. Back then, Kenya had 106 athletes suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for doping violations. And although Chepngetich had a clean chit back then, she has now joined that list.

On July 17, Chris Chavez of Citius Mag reported that the world record holder, Ruth Chepngetich, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit. She tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide, a prohibited diuretic, in a test conducted on March 14th and thereafter went on to “opt for voluntary provisional suspension while the AIU’s investigation was ongoing.” It was on April 3, 2025, that the AIU reported the Kenyan athlete’s positive test, after which an investigation was conducted. And when an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL was found in her sample, she had a notice of charge issued against her.

But how does this look for women’s distance running? Chepngetich remains the official world record holder, having redefined expectations in women’s distance running with her performance in Chicago. However, news of her provisional suspension, stemming from a test conducted four months after that record, has drawn attention to her achievements and raised questions about what comes next. Even last year, when Ruth shattered that unbelievable barrier, many suspected if it was even possible. She was asked in a post-Chicago press conference, “Ruth, unfortunately, in recent years, there’s been a number of doping positives in Kenya. What would you say to someone who says when they see 2:09:56, ‘This is too good to be true. I have questions about it’?” That’s when the athlete said, “I don’t have any idea.” She later said, “You know people must talk but….people must talk so I don’t know.”

Time-wise, the runner-up in that Chicago marathon was nearly 8-9 minutes behind Ruth Chepngetich’s record, which was quite a gap. Also, Amby Burfoot from the Marathon Handbook had reported, “Chepngetich’s performance is only about 7.75% slower than Kelvin Kiptum’s men’s marathon world record. It should be 10 to 11% slower, like all the other male-female differentials in the running record books.” Well, Letsrun.com had also reported that Chepngetich is 30 years old, and the 2024 Chicago was her 15th marathon. That deep into your career, huge leaps are quite uncommon.

When compared with elite male marathoners like Eluid Kipchoge, he began his career as a 2:05 marathoner back in 2013 and ended up 10 years later as a 2:01 marathoner. That seemed a gradual progression. Whereas, when Chepngetich lowered her personal best by 4 minutes in a single race, that raised speculations. And now, the same legendary athlete wound up in a ban for a prohibited substance hardly makes things look better for women’s distance running. But, there were also some positives when one looks at Ruth Chepngetich’s world record from last year.

Revisiting Ruth Chepngetich’s world record

When Chepngetich bettered the world record by nearly 2 minutes, it wasn’t the first time in women’s distance running that such a massive improvement had happened. Before Chepngetich, Tigst Assefa broke Brigid Kosgei‘s record by 2:11. Whereas, Kosgei lowered Paula Radcliffe‘s record by 1:21. Radcliffe herself had set the record twice, once when she broke Catherine Ndereba‘s record by 1:29, and the other time when she broke her own record by 1:53. In all scenarios, the margin was nearly close to 2 minutes.

Additionally, Chpengetich had been winning the Chicago marathon for the last two years, too. She knew what was needed and exactly produced that in 2024, thus a few like Owen M on X said, “Ruth Chpengetich ran 2:09:56 to break the world record at the Chicago Marathon and rather than celebrating this, people are putting limits on women and are stating what they feel like is attainable or not attainable.” From supershoes to her agent, everything was pulled under the scanner, but actually, it was a big moment for the sport.

But now, as Ruth Chepngetich navigates this challenging period, the road ahead remains uncertain. According to The Guardian, the Athletics Integrity Unit stated, “A specified substance has a standard sanction of two years’ ineligibility, subject to possible reduction or increase in accordance with WADA Code provisions.”