Chinese runner dropped by sponsor after riding bike during marathon

For context, a Chinese fitness influencer has been dropped by her sponsor after she apologised for riding a bicycle during the Berlin marathon.

Key points

• Sun Yuanyuan, known as Abeeeer on Chinese social media, had asserted a personal best during the event which was held in September.
• When she was allegedly on the bike, the grid appears to show that she sped up between the 35 and 40km marks.
• The page additionally posted a grid of Sun's "splits" – which are the times taken to complete different 5km segments of the race.
• "After verifying the facts, Brooks China terminated its relationship with the individual and publicly addressed the matter."
• Brooks, the running shoe firm, has concluded its sponsorship accord with her and her finish time has been disqualified by the marathon organisers.

But an Instagram page dedicated to monitoring inaccurate or misleading race times posted by influencers published a picture which appeared to show Sun on a bicycle between the 35km and and 40km marks.

Sun apologised and admitted to "breaking the rules". Brooks, the running shoe firm, has concluded its sponsorship accord with her and her finish time has been disqualified by the marathon organisers.

Notably, an Instagram account calling itself the Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU) posted a photo of Sun apparently on the back of a bike being ridden by another person during the marathon.

Meanwhile, the page additionally posted a grid of Sun's "splits" – which are the times taken to complete different 5km segments of the race.

Sun posted an apology on the Chinese social media platform Rednote. It was shared by OMTIU, admitting that she had broken the rules. She wrote: I won't create any excuses for this behaviour.

I was feeling physically unwell on the course, that is absolutely not an excuse for breaking the rules.

"My attempt to take a shortcut was disrespectful to the fairness of the competition and the spirit of the marathon."

Sun, who has 520, 000 followers on Rednote, additionally stated she "deliberately concealed" her actions, adding: "I feel deeply guilty about this." Brooks confirmed to BBC News that it had dropped Sun.

In practice, a firm statement stated: Brooks believes running should be grounded in integrity, fairness, and respect for competition.

OMTIU was set up to highlight "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 app.

Notably, the page's mission statement notes: "We exist to protect the integrity of the sport by ensuring that the times athletes share publicly reflect the times they actually ran." Its Instagram bio describes it as "satire". BBC News has contacted the Berlin Marathon for comment.

Taken together, the developments around chinese runner dropped by sponsor after riding bike during marathon point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.