Sergey Perelygin from Russia and Maria Jankowska from Poland won the men’s and women’s races at the XDubai Spartan Race held in Hatta on Friday.
This inaugural event was the opening round of the Middle East Championship with top racers from across the world going head-to-head for a stake in the total cash prize of AED 185,000.
Perelygin has been a regular in the UAE and neighbouring Bahrain for the past few years.
“I have seen it all here, and I think that this is perhaps one of the best courses that I have competed on. It has a bit of everything,” he said.
The Russian was followed by UAE resident from Norway Hallvard Borsheim with a time of 2:59.03 hours, while Marco Antonio Becerra Castro took the third in a time of 3:06.13 hours.
The women’s honours were reserved for Polish girl Maria Jankowska as she crossed the line first with a quick time of 3 hours, 46.57 minutes.
Maria was followed by Dubai resident Ivana Kolaric from Serbia with a time of 3:49.04, while pre-race favourite Frenchwoman Angelique Chetaneau made a memorable comeback after a broken arm had put her out of action for nearly three months, taking the third spot with a time of 4:06.31 minutes.
Mohammed Javad, General Manager, XDubai, the organisers of the event, was happy with the successful staging of the event.
“We had more than 10,000 people showing up today and that says a lot of the way this discipline is growing among sports enthusiasts in the country and beyond. We are confident Spartan racing will be a huge hit in the UAE in the near future,” he said.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the race was meant to put more focus on Hatta as an eco-tourism and sporting destination.
The race that was organized by the Dubai Sports Council, is also a part of the UAE’s strategic development plan for the region.
RESULTS
Men Beast category: 1. Sergey Perelygn (2 hours, 43.47 minutes); 2. Hallvard Borsheim (2:59.03); 3. Marco Antonio Becerra Castro (3:06.13).
Women Beast category: 1. Maria Jankowska (3 hours, 46.57 minutes); 2. Ivana Kolaric (3:49.04); 3. Angelique Chetaneau (4:06.31).
Men Sprint category: 1. Mohammed Bassam Obaidat; 2. Yu Min Wang; 3. Firas Sharaf.
Women Sprint category: 1. Latifa Essarokh; 2. Karima Al Marzouki; 3. Agnieszka Kosmala.