The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
361° cut ties with China's 'fastest nurse' runner after a leave request went viral
Marathon star Zhang Shuihua's plea for weekend leave to race went viral; within days 361° had removed her tags and confirmed the partnership was over.
361° · Zhang Shuihua · 2025-09
What happened
Zhang Shuihua, a nurse at a hospital in Fuzhou, won the domestic women's title at the 2025 Harbin Marathon on 31 August with a 2:35:27 personal best — then tearfully asked her hospital to support weekend leave for racing. The video went viral, and the debate reached 361°, which had marketed her as a signed elite runner on her profile page.
On 2 September, viewers flooded 361°'s official livestream asking it to drop her; the next day the company's position emerged: 'based on adjustments in both sides' development paths, the partnership with Zhang has come to a temporary end', which an insider called a friendly decision by mutual agreement. Her 361° tags and poster were removed from her page.
For 361° it was a fast brand-repair exercise: the company ended the tie within days of the controversy peaking, framing it as a mutual, planned adjustment while its livestream account absorbed the public pressure. A viral personal controversy had turned a sponsorship into a liability almost overnight.
Why it happened
- A brand's sponsored athlete is also someone's employee: the same personal story that made her famous can make the endorsement untenable once public sentiment turns.
- The decision was made in days, not weeks — in China's livestream economy, pressure on the brand is immediate and an answer is expected immediately.
The lesson
When an endorsed athlete becomes a news story, the brand has about a weekend to choose. The faster it acts, the less equity burns — but it still has to give the split a story of its own.
Aftermath
The company's insider said the adjustment was a friendly mutual decision that would not affect its other athlete partnerships. Zhang's page no longer carried the 361° tags, and the media coverage moved on within a week.
Sources
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