A prominent social media influencer was disqualified and banned from the New York City Marathon for running the famed Big Apple race with an “unauthorized” e-bike escort filming him.
Matt Choi, 29, ran the five-borough course in an impressive 2:57:15 on Sunday — but his time will be wiped off the list of finishers after his two-wheeled stunt that organizers said impeded other runners, according to a report by Runners World magazine.
It even earned him a lifetime ban.
“I f–ked up,” Choi said on Instagram on Tuesday. “I have no excuses. Full stop. I was selfish on Sunday to have my brother and my videographer follow me round on the course on e-bikes and it had serious consequences. We endangered other runners, we impacted people going for [personal best times], we blocked people from getting water.
“And with the New York City Marathon being about everyone else and about the community, I made it about myself,” he added. “And for anyone I impacted, I’m sorry. To be clear, this was 100% on me, It wasn’t my brother trying to get a shot, it wasn’t my partners asking me to get content.”
The New York Road Runners, which sponsors the 54-year-old, 26-mile race, said in a statement that Choi has the option to appeal the ruling — but he said he doesn’t want it.
“I made my bed so I’ll lay in it,” he said on Instagram. “This isn’t the first time being called out for using e-bikes to get content, but that stops here. It won’t happen again. My word is my bond.”
Choi has posted impressive times in past races, and has amassed more than 465,000 followers on TikTok and more than 405,000 on Instagram — but it’s not the first time he has bent the rules.
In 2023 he wore another runner’s bib at the Houston Marathon, which prohibits doing so, even if other cities permit the practice in their races, Runners World said.
However, Choi averaged a noteworthy 6:46 per mile in Sunday’s race and ran a 1:24:26 at the Brooklyn Half Marathon race in May, the outlet said.
In a statement to The Post, the Road Runners said Choi was banned for obstructing other runners.
“After a review and due to violations of World Athletic rules and New York Road Runners’ Code of Conduct and Rules of Competition, NYRR has disqualified Matt Choi from the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon and removed him from the results,” the statement said.
“He has been banned from any future NYRR races.”
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