Yuanyuan Sun disqualified from Berlin Marathon after bicycle ride

Yuanyuan Sun, a Chinese fitness influencer known as Abeeeer on the social media platform Rednote, has been disqualified from the Berlin Marathon after being caught hitching a ride on a bicycle during the race.

Suspicion arose when timing data showed a significant performance spike between the 35-kilometre and 40-kilometre marks. Photographs shared by the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) appeared to show Sun on the back of a bicycle during this segment. While Sun initially celebrated a finishing time of 4:53:46 as a personal best, race organizers subsequently removed her results from the official standings.

Sun issued a public apology to her 520,000 followers, admitting to violating race rules and acknowledging that she had deliberately concealed her actions in post-race photographs. The controversy has also resulted in the termination of her sponsorship deal with the sportswear brand Brooks.