Gqeberha, South Africa: All eyes will be on Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) on Saturday when she takes on reigning Spar Grand Prix title holder, Ethiopian Tadu Nare (Nedbank) in the penultimate Spar Women’s 10km Challenge in Gqeberha.
Nare has dominated the Spar Grand Prix series since 2021, winning the title three times in a row. However, Xaba beat her by two minutes in the Tshwane edition of the race last month and will have the psychological advantage on Saturday.
In July, Xaba broke the South African 10km record set by Elana Meyer in Budapest in 2001 to become the fastest South African woman over 10 kms. Xaba is currently on top of the Spar Grand Prix table, with a lead of 31 points over her nearest rival, Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer) and stands a good chance of becoming the first South African to win the Spar Grand Prix since foreign athletes were admitted in 2019.
Nare missed the Cape Town race but narrowly beat Xaba in Durban. She is currently in fourth position, with 54 points – one behind her compatriot Diniya Abaraya, who came second to Xaba in Cape Town. Xaba and Nare have both made it clear that they will be going all out to win the 2024 Spar Grand Prix, which should make for an exciting race on Saturday.
This past Saturday, Tadu Nare won the inaugural Mpumalanga Marathon in Mbombela taking home the record R1 million in prize money. The big question remains if Nare will be able to recover in time for Saturday’s race in Gqeberha after winning the Marathon a week ago.
Others taking part in the Gqeberha Spar Challenge include Abaraya, Sosibo, former Grand Prix winners the Phalula twins, Diana-Lebo and Lebogang (Boxer) and three-times Spar Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl (Hollywood). Van Zyl missed the Cape Town race and was in Paris for the Olympic Games in Paris at the time of the Tshwane Spar Challenge, but the new format of the Spar Grand Prix means she still has a chance of finishing high on the final log.
The route, from Marine Drive, adjacent to Pollok Beach, is relatively flat, with some sharp turns and fast times are expected.
For those still wanting to enter the 10km race or 5km fun run for Saturday’s Spar Women’s Challenge Gqeberha, manual entries are being accepted Tuesday 17th to Thursday 18th September from 09h00 to 18h00 and Friday 20th September from 09h00 to 20h00 daily at the race registration located at Pollok Beach.
On race day Saturday 21st September, there will be road closures along Marine Drive and Driftsands Drive from 05h30.
The Spar Grand Prix Gqeberha race will be Livestreamed from 06:50 on Saturday morning on the Spar Grand Prix and Athletics South Africa Facebook pages.