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Images posted by the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit on Instagram showed Yuanyuan Sun, who races under the name Abeeeer, receiving assistance on a bike near the 38-kilometre mark of the Berlin Marathon. According to The Athletic, her split times indicated the fastest five-kilometre segment of her race came between the 35- and 40-kilometre points, coinciding with the period captured in the photographs.[[1]](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7668098/2026/10/07/berlin-marathon-influencer-bike/) The 30-year-old finished in 4:53:46 and initially presented the time as a personal best on social media before the evidence surfaced. Organisers disqualified her and removed the result from official listings by Wednesday.
Sun posted an apology on the Chinese platform RedNote, where she has more than 520,000 followers, on October 3. “Riding a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon did indeed violate race rules,” she wrote. “Even if I felt unwell on the course, it should never be a reason for me to break the rules.” She added that she had deliberately concealed the incident in her post-race images and declared she felt deeply guilty about the actions. The influencer subsequently deleted other Berlin-related content from her account.
Brooks China terminated its sponsorship agreement with Sun after reviewing the evidence, the sportswear brand said in a statement. “Upon verifying the facts, Brooks China immediately terminated its relationship with the influencer and publicly reaffirmed the brand’s commitment to integrity, fairness, and the spirit of running,” a spokesperson told The Athletic. Sun had worn the company’s apparel and shoes throughout the race in Berlin. The company also acknowledged an oversight in its initial assessment of her participation.
The Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit was established in 2025 by two anonymous Australian runners to scrutinise race claims made by fitness influencers on social media, Canadian Running Magazine reported. The account, which has amassed more than 30,000 followers, compares public posts against official chip-timing data rather than GPS records from apps such as Strava. A participant in the Berlin event supplied the photograph of Sun to the unit, its chief integrity officer told CBC News.
The 2026 edition of the Berlin Marathon drew 56,187 entrants for the full distance as part of a wider programme that included more than 84,000 participants from 160 nations, according to the event organisers on berlin.de. Roughly 50,000 runners completed the marathon distance, with favourable conditions allowing 3,739 to break three hours, a Sub3Marathon analysis found. Organisers have stated they impose sanctions in cases of fraud to maintain the integrity of competition.
Sun’s apology post on RedNote generated more than 4,000 comments, several outlets including Mothership.sg reported. The case forms part of a pattern the integrity unit has highlighted in recent months, including incidents at the Dubai Marathon and other major events. Brooks China posted its own statement on the platform announcing it would never collaborate with Sun again.
