Sifan Hassan's Coach Pushes for Harsher Sanction in Ruth Chepng'etich Doping Case

Sifan Hassan’s coach, Tim Rowberry, has shared his verdict on Ruth Chepng’etich’s three-year doping ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Ruth Chepng’etich received the three-year ban after admitting to Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) involving the presence and use of the banned diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), which is also known as the ‘water pill.’

HCTZ is a diuretic and a prohibited substance because it can be used as a masking agent to hide the presence of other performance-enhancing drugs in a urine sample. Ruth Chepng’etich tested positive for HCTZ from a urine sample collected on March 14, 2025.

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Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and Ruth Chepng'etich have clashed a few times, with the Sydney Marathon champion taking the victory.

Competing at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Sifan Hassan claimed top honours, crossing the finish line in 2:13:44 as Ruth Chepng’etich finished second.

At the 2018 Copenhagen half-marathon, Sifan Hassan won the race in 1:05:15, as Ruth Chepng’etich, the women’s marathon world record holder, finished a distant fifth.

Commenting on a post shared by Citius Mag, Tim Rowberry expressed that although he aims to remain fair-minded when judging situations like this, he found it difficult to comprehend why the punishment was not the maximum duration allowed.

“I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but given these circumstances, I don’t understand why it wasn’t still a 4-year ban,” he said.

The key events of Ruth Chepng’etich’s doping ban began with an out-of-competition urine sample collected on March 14, 2025, which returned an adverse analytical finding for HCTZ at a concentration far exceeding the reporting limit.

Ruth Chepng'etich, who had voluntarily provisionally suspended herself in April, initially could not explain the positive test when interviewed by AIU investigators.

However, on July 31, 2025, she changed her explanation, claiming she had taken her housemaid's medication two days before the test after falling ill, and had forgotten to disclose it.

The AIU deemed this account ‘hardly credible’ and categorised her action as ‘recklessness’ amounting to an ‘indirect intent’ violation, leading them to pursue an increased four-year sanction.

Ruth Chepng’etich subsequently admitted to the ADRV and accepted the proposed sanction on September 10, 2025.

Under the Anti-Doping Rules' provision for early admission, her four-year ban was automatically reduced by one year, resulting in a three-year suspension.

Critically, her sensational 2:09:56 world record set at the 2024 Chicago Marathon remains valid, as the result was achieved before her positive test date of March 14, 2025.

The AIU noted it will continue to investigate ‘suspicious material’ recovered from Chepng’etich's mobile phone, which indicated a potential connection to doping programs. Her ban is effective from April 19, 2025.