Influencer Abeeeer caught cheating after claiming Berlin Marathon personal best, dropped by sponsor

Fitness influencer Abeeeer was photographed riding piggyback on a bicycle at the 38km mark of the Berlin Marathon in September.

A fitness influencer celebrated a personal best at the 2026 Berlin Marathon, only to be caught cutting the course on the back of a bicycle.

She later apologised, but her little lie had already cost her more than just a hit on her reputation. Brooks China, which had been supplying her with race equipment, dropped her.

The influencer, known on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu as Abeeeer, posted a finishing time of 4 hours, 53 minutes, 46 seconds after the Sept 27 race.

Photographs and timing records, however, showed something was off.

The Official Marathon Time Integrity Unit (OMTIU), an Instagram account that investigates questionable race performances, flagged pictures showing her on a bicycle near the 38km mark.

According to the account, her fastest 5km stretch came between 35km and 40km – the section where she was photographed getting a ride.

Abeeeer, who has about 530,000 followers, confessed on Oct 3 to fudging her “personal best”.

She said she felt unwell during the race but accepted that it did not justify her actions.

“I will not make any defence for the above behaviour,” she wrote.

She also acknowledged that her conduct went beyond accepting a lift.

Presenting the result afterward as a legitimate achievement, she said, was “a very dishonest act” that “violated the sporting spirit of fair marathon competition”.

Despite her expression of remorse, Brooks China, which had been providing her with race equipment, said it accepted her result without adequately vetting how she completed the course.

In a statement shared by OMTIU, Brooks called its failure to examine information such as her split times “an oversight on our part”.

Brooks said it would not work with her again.

In a post on its Instagram page, OMTIU said it has “seen a shift in behaviour” ever since “influencers” joined the running scene.

Influencers, it said, have been posting times that are not real, “shaving minutes off with watch pauses, imaginary finish lines and inaccurate GPS data”.

“All this to stroke their ego and mask the insecurity that comes with falling short of expectations,” the group said.

Abeeeer is the latest in a long list of marathon cheats.

At the 1904 Olympics in St Louis, American Fred Lorz crossed the marathon finish line first but was disqualified after officials learned he travelled part of the course in a car.

One of the best-known cases involved Rosie Ruiz, who was initially declared the women’s winner of the 1980 Boston Marathon. Officials stripped her of the title after determining she did not run the full course.

The Berlin Marathon has dealt with suspicious results before.

In 2007, former Mexican presidential candidate Roberto Madrazo was disqualified after timing records showed he missed checkpoints and apparently covered 15km in about 21 minutes, faster than world-record pace.

Efforts to detect such dishonesty have become increasingly systematic.

Electronic timing records allow organisers to check runners’ progress at points along a course, rather than relying solely on when they cross the finish line.

Organisers also use identity checks to combat bib swopping and unauthorised substitutes.

Other investigations have relied on cameras already watching the streets.

At China’s Shenzhen half-marathon in 2018, organisers identified 258 participants who broke the rules. Traffic-camera footage, for instance, showed runners taking shortcuts. Organisers announced two-year bans for 237 participants and lifetime bans for those using fake bibs or hired substitutes.

Raul Dancel is a correspondent at The Straits Times’ ST Now desk, covering breaking news and current affairs.