Moroccan Mohamed El Morabity won the title of the 37th edition of the Marathon des Sables on Friday after his victory in the fifth stage which linked Jdaid to Korsi Dyal Zayed over a distance of 42.2 km.
El Morabity won this stage after covering the distance in 3h 18min 34sec, followed by Aziz Yachou (3h 23min 37sec), while Frenchman Vasilii Korytkin came third (3h 35min 55sec).
In a statement to MAP, Mohamed El Morabity expressed his joy at winning his first Marathon des Sables title, adding that he faced stiff competition, in addition to the high temperature which made it difficult for everyone to race. the competitors.
For his part, Aziz Yachou expressed his satisfaction with his second place overall, believing that the most important thing is that the title remains in Morocco.
Among the women, Maryline Nakache won after winning the 5th stage in 4h 18min 04sec, followed by the Japanese Tomomi Bitoh (4h 33min 37sec), while the Moroccan Aziza El Amrany finished 3rd (4h 36min 33sec).
In a statement to the press, Maryline Nakache indicated that she did not expect this victory, specifying that her first objective was to complete all the stages of the Marathon des Sables.
The 6th and last stage, not timed but compulsory, will take place over a distance of 9 km between Korsi Dyal Zayed and Merzouga.
This 37th edition of the Marathon des Sables saw the participation of 1,085 athletes from 54 countries.