He made it through 27 days of “Survivor” in the jungles of Africa, but a Manhattan marathoner barely made it out of his brother’s wedding alive.
Charlie Herschel, 33, an Ironman racer who was the 10th of 18 contestants booted from “Survivor: Gabon” back in 2008, claims unwelcome buffoonery by one of his brother’s groomsmen left him seriously injured.
Herschel was cutting a rug at his brother Graham’s nuptials in a private home on the shores of Saranac Lake, when he was suddenly lifted into the air by Carter Evans, an usher.
“He was picked up off the dance floor against his will, put on [Evans’] shoulders, and [carried] down to the lake,” a source told The Post. “And he was screaming, ‘Put me down! I’m training for an Ironman! I’m running the New York Marathon!’ He was screaming, ‘Please don’t do this!’”
The athletic-but-thin Herschel, who managed to make savvy alliances that kept him in the game on the hit reality show for much of the contest’s 39 days, was helpless as Evans allegedly tossed him into the lake. Other guests were also dunked as the celebration wound down.
The former Ivy Leaguer and Fordham Law grad managed to limp out of the water, and discovered several days later his leg was broken.
The injury was so bad that Herschel wound up having two plates and nine bolts inserted into his leg in two surgeries, and was off his feet for more than three months, forcing him to sit out several athletic events, including a New Hampshire marathon.
Herschel, an attorney, posted a picture on Facebook of his leg in a cast and commented: “My leg is OK and I’m alive! Thank u everyone for the nice notes and remember to not throw people into lakes esp [sic] if the [sic] are screaming to be put down!”
Herschel now wants a judge or jury to vote Evans off the island, or at least pay for what he did.
His Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit against Evans accuses the family friend of “intentionally, wrongfully and maliciously” tossing him into the water.
His real-life legal maneuvering has strained his relationship with his brother, but Herschel has been unable to run since the incident, and “he was robbed of something that really means a lot to him,” the source said. “He doesn’t drink and he doesn’t horseplay.”
Herschel has said he was “100 percent blind sided and disappointed” by his ouster from “Survivor,” where “every day, every hour was incredible,” according to a report.
“I thought that my strategy to develop relationships and get along with people was going to be an asset,” he said after getting kicked out of the game.
Herschel, who seeks unspecified damages, refused to comment on the lawsuit he filed last week. Evans also declined to comment.
kboniello@nypost.com
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