A Chinese fitness influencer has been stripped of her sponsorship and disqualified from the Berlin Marathon after admitting she rode a bicycle for part of the race while claiming a personal best time.
Sun Yuanyuan, who posts under the handle Abeeeer on Chinese social media platforms, apologised publicly after evidence emerged that she had used a bike between the 35km and 40km marks of the September event. The admission followed scrutiny from an Instagram account dedicated to exposing misleading race results shared by online personalities.
The controversy represents a significant blow to Sun's reputation as a fitness content creator, with 520,000 followers on the Chinese platform Rednote. Her sponsorship deal with Brooks, the American running shoe manufacturer, has been terminated following an internal review of the facts.
Brooks confirmed the decision in a statement provided to BBC News. The company said: "Brooks believes running should be grounded in integrity, fairness, and respect for competition. After verifying the facts, Brooks China terminated its relationship with the individual and publicly addressed the matter."
The evidence against Sun was compiled by the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), an Instagram page that monitors inaccurate or misleading race times posted by influencers. The account published an image appearing to show Sun on the back of a bicycle being pedalled by another person during the marathon.
OMTIU also shared a grid of Sun's race splits, which are the recorded times for each 5km segment of the course. According to the data presented, her pace notably accelerated between the 35km and 40km markers, precisely the section where she was allegedly on the bike. The anomaly in her timing patterns raised red flags among running community watchdogs.
In her apology, posted on Rednote and subsequently shared by OMTIU, Sun acknowledged violating competition rules. She stated that she would not attempt to justify her behaviour, noting that while she felt physically unwell during the race, this did not excuse her actions.
She described her decision to take a shortcut as disrespectful to both the fairness of the competition and the spirit of the marathon. Sun also admitted that she had "deliberately concealed" what she had done and expressed that she felt "deeply guilty" about the incident.
The Berlin Marathon, held annually in the German capital, is one of the world's six major marathons and attracts elite runners and amateur participants from across the globe. The event's organisers have since disqualified Sun's finish time, formally removing her result from official records.
Marathon running has seen a surge in popularity tied to the rise of fitness influencers who document their training and race performances on social media. This growth has created new pressures for content creators to achieve impressive times, sometimes leading to allegations of cheating or embellishment.
OMTIU was established specifically to address what it describes as "the growing trend of GPS-based fabrication, selective Strava displays and false PR claims" among marathon runners, with a particular focus on fitness influencers. Strava is a widely used fitness tracking application that allows athletes to share their routes and performance data.
The page's stated mission is to protect the integrity of the sport by ensuring that the times athletes publicly share reflect the times they genuinely ran. However, its Instagram biography describes the account as "satire," adding a layer of ambiguity to its role within the running community.
The incident has sparked broader conversations about accountability in the influencer fitness space, where sponsored content and personal branding often depend on demonstrable athletic achievements. Credibility is a central asset for such creators, and allegations of falsified results can have immediate commercial consequences.
Brooks moved swiftly once the facts were verified, signalling that brands are increasingly attentive to reputational risks associated with the personalities they sponsor. The termination of the partnership underscores how sponsor relationships in the fitness sector are tied not only to athletic performance but also to ethical conduct.
Sun's case follows other high-profile instances in recent years where runners have been accused of cutting courses, using unauthorised transport, or manipulating GPS data to secure faster times. Such scandals often damage trust between audiences and the influencers they follow, and they can prompt race organisers to strengthen verification measures.
For event organisers, detecting and preventing cheating remains a persistent challenge, particularly across large participant fields. Timing mats, split recordings, and video evidence can help identify anomalies, but the sheer scale of major marathons makes comprehensive monitoring difficult.
BBC News has contacted the Berlin Marathon for comment regarding the incident and the disqualification. The case continues to draw attention on social media, where running communities are debating the responsibilities of influencers and the role of watchdog accounts in policing performance claims.
The episode serves as a cautionary tale for fitness creators whose livelihoods depend on public trust. While a single race result may seem minor in isolation, the fallout can extend to sponsorship deals, follower confidence, and long-term career prospects in an increasingly crowded digital marketplace.
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