The creator, identified from her race bib as Sun Yuanyuan with more than 520,000 followers on Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, acknowledged that taking the ride during the September 27 race violated race rules. She said physical discomfort on the course did not justify her decision.
Her admission followed the circulation of photographs showing her riding pillion on a bicycle near the 38km point of the 42.195km race. Timing data showed a sharp improvement in her pace over the same section of the course.
Abeeeer finished with a recorded time of 4 hours, 53 minutes and 46 seconds and presented the performance to followers as a personal best. In her apology, posted on October 3, she said she had deliberately omitted the bicycle ride from her post-race account.
She said her conduct had failed to respect fairness and the spirit of marathon running. She said she would accept criticism and scrutiny.
The controversy has also cost Abeeeer a commercial partnership. Brooks China said on October 4 that it had terminated its relationship with the influencer after verifying the circumstances and would not work with her again.
The sportswear company said it had known about her preparations and race target before Berlin and had supplied equipment for the event. After the marathon, it checked the finishing result and material supplied by the influencer, including photographs and video, but failed to examine the full race closely.
Brooks China acknowledged that it had not adequately reviewed segment data, calling the failure an oversight. It apologised to runners and consumers and said it would strengthen procedures for selecting collaborators, assessing partnerships and managing risks associated with sponsored race participation.
The questions surrounding Abeeeer’s performance were raised publicly by the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit, an independent social-media account run by two Australian runners that examines questionable race performances, especially influencers.
The account posted photographs that it said showed Abeeeer on the bicycle around 38km and highlighted her official split data. She covered the 30km-to-35km section in 36 minutes 51 seconds, while the next five kilometres took 30 minutes 49 seconds.
That 35km-to-40km segment was her fastest five-kilometre split of the marathon, despite coming late in the race when her pace had otherwise been slowing. The improvement of more than six minutes from the preceding five-kilometre section helped draw attention to the photographs.
Abeeeer had shared images from Berlin after finishing and described the 4:53:46 performance as a personal best. Those race-related posts were later removed from her RedNote account after the controversy spread among running communities in China and overseas.
Her apology said she would offer no defence for using the bicycle. She said feeling unwell could not be treated as a reason to disregard the rules and acknowledged that she had taken a chance that was unfair to competitors who completed the distance without such assistance.
The Berlin Marathon’s event guidance requires participants to follow the designated course and competition procedures, while Berlin authorities separately prohibit unauthorised cyclists from joining the closed race area for safety reasons. The marathon also provides medical and withdrawal support for runners unable to continue.
The 2026 race was held on September 27 on Berlin’s established city course. World Athletics records show Ethiopia’s Guye Adola won the men’s race in 2:02:50, while compatriot Tigst Assefa won the women’s event in 2:11:04.
Abeeeer’s case gained attention because the bicycle photographs could be compared with timed checkpoints rather than relying solely on social-media claims. The episode also placed scrutiny on brands that use amateur athletes and fitness creators in race-related marketing.
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