Sun Yuanyuan, who is better known as “Abeeeer” on social media and has more than 500,000 followers on the Chinese platform RedNote, was forced to apologize after she was photographed riding a bike to cheat during the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 26, 2026. While the embarrassed influencer has now apologized for the deception, Brooks China has terminated its deal with Yuanyuan.
Marathons require commitment, discipline, and a serious time investment for training, so when it turns out that someone claiming a personal best took a shortcut to boast about their finish time, every rule-following participant has a right to feel slighted. Such was the case when popular social media influencer, Sun “Abeeeer” Yuanyuan was pictured on the back of a bike instead of getting her steps in between the 35 and 40km mark in Berlin. Following the result, Abeeeer has now gone viral for all the wrong reasons, with pictures circulating that show her riding side saddle. While Yuanyuan had touted a personal best, the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit showed that her bike ride had corresponded with her fastest split during the race.
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Sun “Abeeeer” Yuanyuan Apologizes for Cheating at the 2026 Berlin Marathon
Cycling back on her original claim that she had done herself proud, Abeeeer was forced to apologize for her unsportswoman-like conduct with a statement on Oct. 3, explaining that she had been “feeling unwell.” This did not appease sponsor Brooks China, however, and they have now severed ties with the social media influencer.
Still, Yuanyuan has expressed remorse for her less than honest run. “I will not make any defence for the above behavior,” she wrote, acknowledging “a very dishonest act,” and violating the “sporting spirit of fair marathon competition.” The disgraced influencer also added that reflecting on the day makes her feel “deeply guilty.”
For its part, Brooks China has also apologized to runners, and users of its products, and has noted that the company will reevaluate how it selects future partners and collaborators.
