Strava Culls 3.5M Records Amidst Cheating Scandal

Popular exercise app Strava has recently removed 3.5 million 'suspicious' activities from its extensive database. This significant cull follows revelations of amateur athletes engaging in widespread cheating to improve their standings on the app's internal leaderboards. Many users were found to be falsely registering rides on e-bikes as pedal-powered cycles, while others inaccurately reported runs that were actually completed via car or by cycling.

These deceptive practices allowed individuals to attain higher rankings than they deserved, including undeserved 'King or Queen of the Mountain' (KOM) status for specific segments. While there is no monetary gain, these virtual accolades hold significant prestige within the amateur cycling and running communities. Strava has acknowledged the issue, stating that the action was a comprehensive global effort to address long-standing anomalies pointed out by users.