Fitness influencer loses sponsor after bicycle ride during Berlin Marathon

International

A PHOTOGRAPH appearing to show a Chinese fitness influencer on a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon has led to a disqualified result, an apology and the end of her sponsorship with Brooks.

Sun Yuanyuan, known as Abeeeer on Chinese social media, had claimed a personal best after taking part in the marathon in September. Her result was later disqualified after an Instagram account that monitors questionable race performances posted an image apparently showing her on a bicycle between the 35km and 40km marks.

The Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) also shared a graphic showing Sun’s race splits — the times recorded for each 5km section. The figures appeared to show a faster pace during the 35km to 40km section.

Sun subsequently apologized on Rednote, a Chinese social media platform, acknowledging that she had broken the rules. She said she had been feeling physically unwell during the race but accepted that this did not justify her actions. She also acknowledged that taking a shortcut was disrespectful to the fairness of the competition and the spirit of the marathon.

She wrote, “I won’t make any excuses for this behaviour.

Sun, who has 520,000 followers on Rednote, also said she had “deliberately concealed” what she had done and expressed deep guilt over her actions.

Brooks confirmed to BBC News that it had ended its sponsorship relationship with Sun.

The running shoe company said it believes the sport should be based on integrity, fairness and respect for competition. After verifying the facts, Brooks China terminated its relationship with Sun and publicly addressed the matter.

OMTIU says it was established to highlight “the growing trend of GPS-based fabrication, selective Strava displays and false PR claims” among marathon runners, particularly fitness influencers. Strava is a fitness tracking app.

The account says its mission is to protect the integrity of the sport by ensuring publicly shared race times reflect the times athletes actually ran. Its Instagram bio describes the page as “satire”.(MyTVCebu)