2023-04-30 03:00:00
The nine-time winner of the Marathon des Sables Rachid El Morabity and his teammate Aziz El Akkad decided on Thursday to withdraw from this 37th edition.
These withdrawals occur after El Morabity and El Akkad were fined a three-hour delay penalty imposed by the organizing committee, due to an unexpected check of their backpacks which revealed that the two marathon runners had food provided by a third party, when the rules of the race prohibit this.
“Any outside assistance is prohibited and subject to penalty”, says the organizing committee, recalling that the race takes place in food self-sufficiency throughout the duration of the event, the organization being responsible for providing participants with water and the lodge.
To ensure that participants comply with these measures, checks are carried out regularly.
These withdrawals reshuffle the cards in the general men’s classification, both individually and in teams. Thus, in the individual classification, Mohamed El Morabity, the younger brother of Rachid, now occupies first place, with a lead of 3min17 sec over Aziz Yachou, second. For his part, the French Mathieu Blanchard completes the podium, taking the place occupied until then by Rachid El Morabity.
In the general team classification, TGCC, of which Rachid El Morabity and Aziz El Akkad are members, moved from first to third place. Team France TERDAV is in first place, followed by the Sofac team, which includes Aziz Yachou, Lahcen Ahansal and Hamid Yachou.
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