A Texas social media influencer has been disqualified and banned from future races at the New York City marathon.
Last weekend, fitness influencer Matthew Choi ran the race with his camera crew on e-bikes, endangering other runners.
He finished the 42.2-kilometre course with a time of 2:57:15, about 50 minutes behind Abdi Nageeye, the winner of the men’s race.
Choi issued an apology to his 400,000 followers after receiving the lifetime ban.
“I have no excuses, full-stop,” he said on Wednesday AEDT.
“I was selfish on Sunday to have my brother and my videographer follow me around on e-bikes, and it had serious consequences.
“We endangered other runners, we impacted people going for PBs, we blocked people from getting water and with the New York City Marathon being about everyone else and the community, I made it about myself.
“And for anyone I impacted, I’m sorry.”
He added that the decision “was 100 per cent on me” as he did not receive pressure to film content from any partners or sponsors.
New York Road Runners, the organisers of the race, said in a statement that Choi’s actions violated the code of conduct and competition rules.
“One of the incidents brought to NYRR’s attention was that Choi ran with the assistance of two unauthorised people riding the course on electric bicycles, obstructing runners,” the group said.
The fitness influencer posted several videos of him running the marathon on social media, which immediately drew backlash.
“As a runner, seeing him was amazing. Gave me extra motivation to pass him and make sure I never had to see him and his dumb crew for the rest of the race,” wrote one user on Reddit.
He has since acknowledged the criticism and has vowed to stop the practice.
“It won’t happen again. My word is my bond.”
Images: Instagram