Glenrose Xaba’s victory in the Gqeberha Spar Women’s 10km Challenge last Saturday means she will become the first South African to win the Spar Grand Prix since the series was opened to international athletes in 2019.
Xaba, who runs for Boxer, has a near-perfect score of 119 points, after winning every race apart from the Durban Challenge. She earned maximum bonus points in all the races and there is no other runner who can pass her on the Spar Grand Prix ladder.
After her stunning victory over three-time Spar Grand Prix winner Tadu Nare (Nedbank) in Tshwane last month, Xaba let it be known that she was determined to become the first South African to win the overall title since international athletes were admitted.
“I won it in 2018 and I want to win it again,” she said.
She will have a real cash bonanza – the winner of the Spar Grand Prix receives prize money of R200 000. In addition, Xaba will receive R75 000 for being the top South African, and she will also have the use of a Proton X50 SUV for a year.
With Xaba having clinched the Spar Grand Prix, the battle will now be on for second place and R100 000 prize money. Nare’s fellow Ethiopian teammate Diniya Abaraya is currently in second position, with 84 points, two points ahead of Nare. Abaraya beat Nare in Gqeberha on Saturday, but Nare was still recovering from winning the R1-million Mbombela Marathon a week earlier.
Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer) is in line to finish as the second South African on the log and could earn prize money of R50 000. She has 72 points and could be pipped at the post if former Spar Grand Prix winner Diana-Lebo Phalula-Mzazi (Boxer) or Karabo Mailula (Tuks) beats her in the Jozi Challenge on October 6. They are currently tied on 53 points each.
Phalula-Mzazi appears set to win the 40-49 category – she has 39 category points, two ahead of her twin, Lebogang Phalula-Luthuli.
The fifth and final race in the Spar Grand Prix series will be run at Marks Park Sporting Club in Johannesburg on Sunday, October 6.