Milak and Desi win the men’s and women’s titles at the 2026 Dubai Marathon

The Ethiopian runner, Nebert Melak, asserted himself as the champion of the “Silver Jubilee” edition of the 2026 Dubai World Marathon, which took place yesterday, after he won the men’s category title.

“Milak” covered the race distance, amounting to 42.195 kilometers, in a time of 2:04:00 hours, achieving the second best time in the history of the event, equal to his compatriot Mozenet Geremiu in the 2018 edition, and behind the record set by Ethiopian Getane Mola in a time of 2:03:34 hours in the 2019 edition.

In the women’s category, the Ethiopian runner, Enchinalo Desi, continued her brilliance and was crowned champion of the race after finishing the competition in a time of 2:18:31 hours, which is the fourth best time in the history of the Dubai Women’s Marathon.

The Ethiopian, Yassin Haji, came in second place in the men’s category with a time of 2:05:52 hours, followed by the Rwandan, John Hakizimana, in third place with a time of 2:06:04 hours, while the two Ethiopians, Muleye Dikibo and Fante Worko, came in second and third place in the women’s category with times of 2:18:42 and 2:19:08 hours, respectively.

After the end of the competitions, the Secretary-General of the Dubai Sports Council, Saeed Hareb, crowned the winners. The first three place holders in the men’s and women’s categories received financial prizes amounting to $80,000 for first place, $40,000 for second place, and $20,000 for third place.

The 25th edition of the Dubai Marathon, which was held with the support of the Dubai Sports Council, and whose competitions extended to the finish line at the Dubai Police Academy, witnessed a total participation of 20,000 runners in various races, including the 10 km and 4 km races, including a record number of four thousand participants in the full marathon race.

For his part, the General Coordinator of the Dubai Marathon 2026, Counselor Ahmed Al Kamali, said that the results of the 25th edition of the event were positive and satisfactory at various levels, noting that the time recorded in the marathon race is the second best time in the history of the marathon, despite expectations of achieving a faster time, as the official approved time settled at two hours and four minutes, which reflects the advanced technical level of the race.

Al-Kamali added in press statements, “The participation in the various races was remarkable, as the 10-kilometer race witnessed the participation of about nine thousand runners, which is a number that seems good, while the number of participants in the full marathon race for the elite category reached about four thousand runners, and these numbers reflect the great turnout and organizational success of the event.”

He pointed out that “the top 10 runners in the marathon were all able to record times of less than two hours and eight minutes, which he considered a clear indication of the strength of the competition and the high technical level.”

At the conclusion of his statements, Al Kamali explained that “the 2026 edition has restored vitality to the Dubai Marathon, especially at the level of timing,” stressing that the organizing committee will discuss during the next stage the possibility of enhancing the financial prizes, with the aim of attracting a wider elite of international runners, and achieving stronger times in the upcoming editions.

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Al Nuaimi came in second place in the 10 km race

The Bulgarian, Miroslav Spasov, topped the men’s category in the 10 km race with a time of 31:40 minutes, and the Emirati, Saeed Al Nuaimi, came in second place with a time of 31:50 minutes, while the Briton, Elliot Blair, came third in a time of 31:58 minutes.

In the women’s category, the Croatian, Shay Faber, won first place in a time of 36:46 minutes, followed by the Frenchwoman, Chloe Hamard, in a time of 37:06 minutes, and then the Jordanian, Heba Hammoud Amin, in a time of 37:15 minutes.