Hicham El Barouki and Abdelhakimi El Fehi have been confirmed as the winner and runner-up respectively of the 25th Land Rover Malta Marathon.
The Malta Marathon Organising Committee in a statement this evening referred to the incident on Sunday when the lead car took a wrong route, throwing the four front-runners off the course.
The two Moroccans continued the race despite having to cover an extra three kilometers but pre-race favourite Neals Strik of Holland, and local hopeful Jonathan Balzan had to abandon the race.
"For this incident, the Malta Marathon Organising Committee (MMOC) accepts full responsibility," the MMOC statement said. "We have consulted the IAAF rule book in light of the following facts: a) the Moroccan athletes ran further than the official race distance; b) they were under the visual supervision of a race official at all times; and c) by running off course the athletes did not gain any material advantage.
"For all of the above reasons the MMOC has officially awarded the Moroccans first and second place in the 25th Malta Marathon 2010.
"Without in any way wishing to play down the negative impact of this incident on the four runners concerned, the MMOC has already held open and candid meetings with the Moroccan and Dutch runners concerned and all three have expressed themselves completely satisfied with the way the unfortunate incident has been handled by the MMOC.
"All three have kindly accepted the MMOC's invitation to return to Malta next year to once again take part in the Malta Marathon."
The MMOC said that even with the best will in the world, there is no way this incident could be undone.
"We intend to reasonably compensate Jonathan Balzan for prize money he may have been denied by this incident despite the fact that his own stated anticipated predicted time would not have entitled him to any prize money," the statement added.
"The MMOC feels this compensation could enable him to run a marathon abroad in lieu of this missed opportunity."
The MMOC said it deeply regretted the incident and was willing to do everything humanly possible to ensure that it would never happen again.
It added that last Sunday's event was an immensely satisfying one for the vast majority of participants in the record entry field of over 1,400 competitors.
"We would like to once again express our appreciative thanks for the vital role played by our sponsor, partners, government agencies, officials, and helpers," the committee concluded.