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Berlin Marathon Influencer Caught Riding a Bike at 38K
By @sharedot · · 6 pages
- Fitness
- Running
- Berlin Marathon
- Marathon Cheating
Fitness influencer Abeeeer apologized after being photographed riding a bike during the Berlin Marathon, and sponsor Brooks China cut ties with her.
A 'Personal Best' That Wasn't Real
A Chinese fitness influencer known online as Abeeeer, with roughly 530,000 followers across social media, initially celebrated a 4:53:46 finish at the September 27 Berlin Marathon as a personal best. Runner's World reports she was photographed riding on the back of a bicycle near the 38K mark of the race. The Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), an Instagram account that investigates questionable race performances, flagged the images, according to Runner's World. On October 3 she acknowledged breaking the rules, writing, 'I will not make any defense for the above behavior.'
The Splits Told the Story
NeedToKnow reports that Abeeeer's fastest 5K of the entire race came between 35K and 40K, when she covered the section in 30 minutes and 49 seconds — more than six minutes quicker than her previous 30K-to-35K split, and the exact stretch where she was photographed on the bike. NeedToKnow also reports she had initially claimed she became unwell, vomited and fell around 38K, got on a friend's bicycle to find an official and withdraw, then continued after learning only about 4 kilometers remained and a personal best was still possible. She insisted she had not skipped any part of the course before later apologizing.
Brooks China Terminates the Partnership
The fallout reached Brooks China, which had partnered with Abeeeer and provided her race equipment. Runner's World reports that in a statement obtained by OMTIU, Brooks admitted its post-race checks focused on her result and the materials she provided rather than how she completed the course, calling that 'an oversight on our part.' The company said it terminated the partnership immediately and would 'never cooperate with them again in the future,' apologized to runners and consumers, and said it would reevaluate how it selects partners and reviews future collaborations. Her marathon-related posts have since been removed, NeedToKnow reports.
What Comes Next at Berlin
Abeeeer admitted the deception continued after she got off the bike, calling the way she presented the race afterward 'a very dishonest act' that 'violated the sporting spirit of fair marathon competition,' and said feeling unwell did not justify what she did, per Runner's World. The scale of the event makes the story resonate: Runner's World notes more than 56,000 runners from 162 nations entered this year's Berlin Marathon, with more than 50,000 finishing under their own power. NeedToKnow reports she could face further punishment from race organizers, though no official sanction had been announced as of Sunday.