Defending series champion Glenrose Xaba had to dig deep on Sunday morning, but she managed to hold off a challenge from Ethiopia's Selam Gebre to win the opening leg of the 2025 SPAR Grand Prix in Cape Town, held in Greenpoint.
While it had rained in the Mother City overnight, the skies cleared just before the start of the 10km contest, offering near perfect conditions for the elite field aside from a bit of wind.
Pushing the pace hard at the start, Xaba (Boxer Athletics Club) pulled two athletes with her in the early stages - Gebre and another Ethiopian, Meseret Fita (both representing Nedbank Running Club) - as they opened a gap on a larger chasing group.
Approaching halfway, however, 41-year-old Lebo Phalula (Boxer) put in an incredible surge to drag some of the chase group with her as they closed the gap on the leaders.
The pace eventually took its toll, and the athletes dropped off one by one until only Gebre was left hanging on to Xaba's shoulder in the closing stages.
Having led from the gun, Xaba kicked with less than a kilometre to go and finally managed to shake off Gebre as she drew clear for a hard-fought win in 33:13.
And Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) defends her #SPARGrandPrix #CapeTown title winning in 33.13 #Twenty20thrive pic.twitter.com/IXUkvwzzgo
— SPAR Grand Prix (@SPARGrandPrix) March 30, 2025
Gebre finished five seconds off the pace in 33:18, while Xaba's training partner Karabo Mailula (Tuks Athletics) stepped on the podium at a SPAR Grand Prix race for the first time in her career, crossing the finish line in third place in 33:35. Phalula finished in an impressive fourth position behind fourth placed Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer).
Russian-born Australian Ola Firsova, who now lives in Stellenbosch, finished in the top ten in eight positions.
The race, which attracted a massive field of 16 000 participants, started 30 minutes late after the race safety committee took a decision to ensure all possible safety issues had been solved on the route.
'FOCUSED UNTIL THE END'
Xaba admitted the late start had affected her performance, but she was pleased to have opened the defence of her series title with a victory.
"I'm happy with the race but I'm a little disappointed with my time," said Xaba, who holds the South African 10km record of 31:12.
"We stood too long at the start and my muscles were stiff and my body didn't respond very well, but I'm glad I was able to run a good race and stay focused until the end."
Gebre was also satisfied with her result, just two weeks after she finished second at the Rome Marathon in Italy in 2:28:22.
"To be honest, I need a little more time to recover from the marathon, and I felt the wind was a bit harsh, but I did my best and I'm happy with the result," Gebre said.
Phalula went on to finish fifth overall, winning the Over-40 category in 34:14, just 13 seconds outside her own South African veteran’s record.
Caster Semenya running in her second official 10km race finished in a credible 14th position.
Following the race, one lucky winner from the 16 000 entries was drawn to win a Hyundai Exter valued at R269 900.
The winner was Capetonian Lindsey Pettit of West Coast Athletics Club.