Aziz YACHOU

After narrowly missing the podium in his first Marathon des sables in 2021, Aziz Yachou earned a spot the following year by placing third behind the El Morabity brothers, Rachid and Mohamed. After these two unsuccessful attempts, he believes that this year could be the one.

"The competition is extremely tough, but I have trained hard and long to win this year," he says, clearly very confident. This was on Monday morning before the start of the second stage. The day before, Aziz Yachou had ranked 3rd behind El Morabity. A ranking that he kept at the end of the second stage during which he had to suffer the infernal rhythm of the two brothers. To the extent of recognizing that it will be very difficult for him to compete and achieve his goal: to win this year and thus put an end to the saga of Rachid El Morabity, which has continued for over a decade.

" To find yourself fighting with two brothers is very difficult," he admits. His brother Hamid Yachou is also present at the Marathon des sables, but he is not able to keep the same pace. This leaves the El Morabity brothers free to set the pace they want, when they want, while keeping a close eye on the competition.

Like Rachid and Mohamed El Morabity, Aziz Yachou is also a native of Zagora. And like the two brothers before him, he also benefits from the mentorship and experience of Lahcen Ahansal, the record holder of many podiums in the Marathon des sables.

The latter is present at this 37th edition where he is teamed up with Aziz Yachou and his brother Hamid; all three running under the Sofac banner. 

"Aziz is a formidable competitor who does not hide his desire to dethrone Rachid El Morabity," says a regular participant of the Marathon des sables.

At the end of this 37th edition, it was finally Mohamed EL MORABITY who won, and Aziz finished in second place. It's not for this time yet, but the experience gained is invaluable!