Chinese runner dropped by sponsor after riding bike during marathon

Chinese Fitness Influencer Sun Yuanyuan Dropped by Sponsor After Admitting to Bike Use During Berlin Marathon Sun Yuanyuan, who posts under the name Abeeeer on Chinese social media, has lost her sponsorship with Brooks after acknowledging that she rode a bicycle during the Berlin marathon. The influencer said she had claimed a personal champion during the lawsuit held in September. An Instagram account called the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) published a photograph that appeared to show Sun on a bicycle between the 35‑km and 40‑km marks of the race. The same account also shared a grid of her 5‑km splits, which indicated a sudden increase in speed over that segment. Sun responded on the Chinese platform Rednote, a post that was later shared by OMTIU. She wrote: "I won't marque immoderate excuses for this behaviour. "I was feeling physically unwell connected the course, [but] that is perfectly not an excuse for breaking the rules. "My effort to instrumentality a shortcut was disrespectful to the fairness of the contention and the tone of the marathon." She added that she had 520,000 followers on Rednote and that she "deliberately concealed" her actions, stating: "I consciousness profoundly blameworthy astur this." Brooks confirmed to BBC News that it had ended its relationship with her. The company’s statement read: "Brooks believes moving should beryllian grounded successful integrity, fairness, and respect for competition. After verifying the facts, Brooks China terminated its narration with the idiosyncratic and publically addressed the matter." The marathon organisers subsequently disqualified Sun’s finishing time. OMTIU describes itself as a satire account and says its mission is: "We beryllium to support the integrity of the athletics by ensuring that the times athletes stock publically bespeak the times they really ran." The group says it aims to highlight what it calls the growing trend of GPS‑based fabrication, selective Strava displays and false PR claims among marathon runners, particularly fitness influencers. Strava is a fitness‑tracking application. BBC News has approached the Berlin Marathon for comment.