Chinese Fitness Influencer Abeeeer Apologises After Being Caught Cheating At Berlin Marathon
- Chinese influencer Sun Yuanyuan, known as Abeeeer, celebrated a personal best at the Berlin Marathon before photographs emerged placing her on a bicycle
- An independent running watchdog account exposed her suspicious race splits, showing an unusually fast 5km stretch near the end of the course
- Running brand Brooks China terminated its partnership with Abeeeer after verifying the incident
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Source: Twitter
BEIJING/BERLIN — Chinese fitness influencer Sun Yuanyuan, known online as Abeeeer, has publicly apologised after photographic evidence emerged showing her riding pillion on a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon on 27 September 2026.
Abeeeer, who has more than 520,000 followers on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (RedNote), crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 53 minutes and 46 seconds and later posted about the result as a personal best.
Watchdog account flags suspicious splits
The celebration was short-lived. On 1 October, the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), an Instagram-based watchdog founded by two Australian runners to scrutinise misleading race performances by influencers, published photographs showing Abeeeer on the back of a bicycle at approximately the 38 km mark of the 42.195 km course.
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OMTIU also highlighted irregularities in her pace data. Her running speed had generally declined during the earlier portions of the race, yet she completed the stretch between the 35 km and 40 km marks in 30 minutes and 49 seconds, her quickest 5 km split across the entire race.
Abeeeer admits to cheating; Brooks China cuts ties
CNA Lifestyle reported that on 3 October, Abeeeer published an apology on her Xiaohongshu account, confirming she had got on a bicycle during the race after feeling physically unwell. She acknowledged the decision violated competition rules and described it as showing disrespect for "the fairness of the competition and the spirit of the marathon."
She also admitted to deliberately leaving out what had happened when she initially shared her race experience online.
"That was a very dishonest act," she wrote, adding that she felt deeply guilty. She later removed all Berlin Marathon-related posts from her account.
Source: Instagram
The following day, running brand Brooks China announced it had ended its collaboration with the influencer after verifying the incident. The company stated it would not work with her again and committed to strengthening its vetting process for future partnerships.
A history of marathon cheating
Abeeeer is not the first to attract attention for cutting corners. Rosie Ruiz was stripped of her 1980 Boston Marathon title after it was established she had not completed the full course. In 2018, 258 participants were penalised at the Shenzhen Half Marathon, and in 2019, three Chinese runners received lifetime bans for bib swapping and forged qualifying results linked to the Boston Marathon.
Milwaukee Half Marathon tragedy leaves family grieving
Briefly News also reported that a 36-year-old runner died after collapsing during the Milwaukee Lakefront Half Marathon in Wisconsin on Sunday, 4 October 2026.
John Meise was taken to Froedtert Hospital after the medical emergency but was later pronounced dead. He is survived by his wife, Lauren, and their four children.
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Source: Briefly News
