Man, what a day it was at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. Ruth Chepngetich, Kenya’s marathon queen, tore through the streets with a jaw-dropping time of 2:09:56, smashing the women’s world record by nearly two minutes. She became the first woman to dip under 2 hours and 10 minutes, leaving Tigst Assefa’s 2023 Berlin mark of 2:11:53 in the dust. Her splits were unreal, 5km in 15:00, half in 64:16, and powering through to 40km in 2:03:11. As a fan, you couldn’t help but feel the electricity of her triumph, her third Chicago win after 2021 and 2022. But what made this so special moment an unforgivable one?
Well, on July 17, 2025, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) dropped a bombshell: Chepngetich was provisionally suspended after testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a banned diuretic, on March 14, 2025, post-Lisbon Half Marathon (1:06:20). The sample showed 3,800 ng/mL of HCTZ, way above the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 20 ng/mL threshold. This diuretic can mask other substances, raising red flags. And guess what, she accepted the suspension voluntarily on April 19, 2025, and now faces a possible two-year ban pending a tribunal hearing. As she is battling through, her 2024 after win words resurface, and are making online rounds now.
Well, in 2024 after crossing the finish line, Chepngetich’s joy was infectious. “I feel so great. I’m proud of myself and what I’ve done for the victory and the world,” she said, her words raw with emotion. She dedicated the win to Kelvin Kiptum, the late men’s record holder, adding, “This is the world record now, He has gone back to Kenya. I am dedicating this to him.”
Her love for Chicago shone through: “Chicago is like home… Fans, they are motivating, shouting, that makes me push so hard.” Her prep was meticulous, too, she noted, “I was prepared well… It was in my mind, and I have fulfilled it.” Yet, how could such a high come crashing down so fast?
Those 2024 quotes, once a celebration of grit, now sting with irony under scrutiny. Chepngetich’s record, her passion for Chicago, will they stand the test of this scandal?
Ruth Chepngetich’s stellar career is overshadowed now
Picture this: Ruth Chepngetich, now 30, powering through the midnight streets of Doha in 2019, clinching the women’s World Championships marathon title in a grueling 2:32:43. That race, kicked off at midnight to dodge Qatar’s brutal heat, showed her grit. But her real claim to fame? Last October’s Chicago Marathon, where she blazed to a 2:09:56, snagging the women’s world record and becoming the first woman to break 2:11 and 2:10. Talk about a game-changer! How does someone dominate like that?
Her resume sparkles with three of the top-10 women’s marathon times ever: that 2:09:56 in Chicago 2024, a 2:14:18 in Chicago 2022 (fifth-fastest), and a 2:15:37 in Chicago 2023 (ninth-fastest). In 15 career marathons, she’s won nine, nabbed second twice, third once, and ninth once in the 13 she finished. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic marathon? A rare DNF for her. Her latest race was a solid 1:06:20 for second at the Lisbon Half Marathon on March 9, 2025. But what happened next?
Just five days later, on March 14, a positive test for a banned diuretic flipped her story upside down. Kenya’s doping crisis looms large. 139 athletes, more than any nation, were on the AIU’s ineligible list by June 30, 2025, with Chepngetich and Felix Kirui now added. Can her legacy weather this storm?
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