Claimed a Marathon Personal Best... Caught Riding on the Back of a Bicycle, Chinese Influencer Loses Sponsorship

Photo shows him riding a bicycle at the 38-kilometer mark of the Berlin Marathon
Sun admits he "undermined the spirit of fair competition"
Sponsor terminates deal... Debate over influencer credibility continues

A Chinese fitness influencer with more than 520,000 followers was found to have ridden a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon, one of the world's best-known marathon races. They had promoted their finishing time as a personal best, but controversy grew after a photo of them climbing onto a bicycle during the race was posted, and they even lost a sponsorship deal.

On October 7, Singapore's CNA, the UK's daily newspaper The Independent and other foreign media reported on Sun Yuanyuan, who goes by "Abeeeer" on RedNote (Xiaohongshu), a Chinese social media platform. Sun said they had set a personal best after crossing the finish line in 4 hours, 53 minutes and 46 seconds at the 2026 Berlin Marathon, held on September 27.

Questions were raised about the legitimacy of the time after the social media account Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) posted a photo of Sun riding in the back of a bicycle during the race. The photo was reportedly taken at around the 38-kilometer mark of the 42.195-kilometer course. OMTIU is an account that reviews the accuracy of times publicized by influencers and checks for cheating, using photos, videos and data from fitness-tracking apps.

A famous Chinese influencer apologized after it was revealed that they rode a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon and set a record. Social media screenshot.

Sun's split times also fueled suspicion. According to the published results, Sun covered the 35-to-40-kilometer segment in 30 minutes and 49 seconds, the fastest of all their five-kilometer segments. That segment overlapped with the point where Sun was seen riding a bicycle.

On October 3, after the photo was posted, Sun published an apology on social media and admitted to riding a bicycle during the marathon. Sun said they had felt unwell during the race, but acknowledged that this could not be used as an excuse for violating the rules.

Sun acknowledged that their actions undermined fair competition and the spirit of the marathon, and apologized, saying it was "very dishonest behavior." Sun also admitted to deliberately withholding the fact that they had ridden a bicycle while sharing their race experience. After the controversy escalated, Sun deleted posts about the Berlin Marathon from their RedNote account.

On October 4, sports brand Brooks China, which had worked with Sun, announced that it had verified the facts and terminated its sponsorship deal with them. The brand said it had reviewed Sun's finishing time and related materials after the race, but acknowledged that it had not sufficiently examined the entire race, including the split times. It also apologized for the incident and said it would strengthen its vetting procedures for future collaborators.

Sun's apology has brought the incident to a close for now, but debate continues online about how to verify the records of influencers who promote their athletic achievements on social media.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.