Marathon des Sables: Morabity and Barnes claim overall victory

Morocco’s Rachid el Morabity won the Marathon des Sables for a third time on Friday following the fifth and final stage.

Some 1200 runners competed in the final leg which took them over 42.2 kilometres of Moroccan desert.

Morabity of Morocco won every stage on offer this edition and completed the last in a winning time of three hours, 22 minutes, 59 seconds.

It was his second consecutive overall victory and third in total after also winning the 2011 edition.

Compatriot’s Abdelkader El Mouaziz and Aziz El Akad rounded off the men’s podium.

Sweden’s Elisabet Barnes claimed the women’s title at the second time of asking.

Britain’s Anna-Marie Watson ended the race second overall while Russia’s Natalia Sedykh took third.