Chinese runner dropped by sponsor after cycling in marathon

A Chinese fitness influencer has been dropped by her sponsor after she apologized for riding a bicycle during the Berlin Marathon.

Sun Yuanyuan, known as Abeeeer on Chinese social media, had claimed a personal best during the event held in September.

But an Instagram page dedicated to monitoring inaccurate or misleading race times, posted by influencers, published an image that appeared to show Sun on a bike between the 35km and 40km marks.

The Sun apologized and admitted to “breaking the rules”. Brooks, the running shoe company, ended their sponsorship deal with her and her finishing time was disqualified by the marathon organizers.

An Instagram account calling itself the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) posted a photo of the sun apparently on the back of a bicycle ridden by another person during the marathon.

The page also posted a grid of the sun “splits” – which are the times to complete different 5km segments of the race.

The grid appears to show that she was speeding up between the 35 and 40 km marks when she was allegedly on the bike.

The Sun posted an apology on Chinese social media platform Rednote, which was shared by OMTIU, admitting that she had broken the rules.

She wrote: “I will not make excuses for this behaviour.

“I felt physically ill on the course, [but] that is absolutely no 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.”

The Sun, who has 520,000 followers on Rednote, also said she “deliberately hid” her actions, adding: “I feel deeply guilty about this.”

Brooks confirmed to BBC News that it had dropped the sun.

A company statement said: “Brooks believes that running should be grounded in integrity, fairness and respect for competition.

“After reviewing the facts, Brooks China terminated its relationship with the individual and publicly addressed the matter.”

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

The page’s mission statement says, “We exist to protect the integrity of the sport by ensuring that the times athletes share publicly reflect the times they actually run.”

His Instagram bio describes it as “satire”.

BBC News has contacted the Berlin Marathon for comment.