Fitness Influencer Admits Berlin Marathon Cheating After 'Personal Best' Challenged by Bike Ride Photo and Race Data

Chinese fitness influencer Abeeeer has admitted to riding a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon after initially celebrating her 4:53:46 finish as a 'personal best', following scrutiny sparked by a photo and her race data.

Abeeeer, whose racing bib identified her as Sun Yuanyuan, competed in the Berlin Marathon on 27 September and later shared photos from the event online. The post reportedly had the caption, 'Slow is fast.'

She presented the 4-hour, 53-minute, 46-second result as a 'personal best' before scrutiny focused on how she completed the closing stages of the race.

Bike Photo Sparks Marathon Scrutiny

The controversy intensified after photos emerged showing Abeeeer riding pillion on a bicycle around the 38km mark of the 42.195km race.

According to the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), an online account that scrutinises suspicious race performances, her timing data also showed an unusual acceleration late in the course.

Her recorded 35km-to-40km split was 30 minutes and 49 seconds, making it her fastest five-kilometre split despite having slowed during earlier stages. The photograph and timing information were shared on 1 October, prompting questions about the legitimacy of the personal-best result.

OMTIU describes itself as an independent online watchdog focused on potentially misleading race performances, rather than an official race authority.

Abeeeer Admits Breaking Race Rules

Abeeeer addressed the controversy on 3 October, acknowledging that she had ridden a bicycle during the marathon and violated the race rules.

She said she had been feeling physically unwell during the race but accepted that this did not justify what she had done. 'Even if I was feeling physically unwell on the course, that is absolutely not an excuse for breaking the rules. My attempt to take a shortcut was disrespectful to the fairness of the competition and the spirit of the marathon,' she wrote.

Abeeeer also acknowledged that she had deliberately left out the bicycle incident when she later shared her race experience online. 'I intentionally concealed this fact during my public sharing after the race. That was a truly dishonest behaviour,' she wrote.

She apologised and removed Berlin Marathon-related posts from her Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, account.

Brooks China Cuts Ties With Influencer

The fallout soon extended to Abeeeer's commercial partnerships. Running brand Brooks China announced on 4 October that it had terminated its relationship with the influencer after reviewing the incident and would not work with Abeeeer again.

'Brooks has always clearly opposed and will never tolerate any behaviour that violates the rules of the race and the spirit of sports,' the company said in a statement posted on its Xiaohongshu account.

Brooks China also apologised for its handling of the collaboration, saying it had not adequately assessed the full circumstances surrounding her marathon performance. The company said it had reviewed her finishing result and related content after the race but had not sufficiently examined the entire race process, including split-time data. It said it would strengthen its assessment of future collaborators to prevent similar oversights.

Abeeeer, who has more than 520,000 followers on Xiaohongshu, has faced further criticism online since the incident. Some commenters reportedly praised her apology, while others questioned whether she would have acknowledged the bicycle ride without the photographic evidence.