Glenrose Xaba, the reigning champion of Gqeberha and holder of the Spar Grand Prix title, successfully defended her title at the Women's 10-kilometer Championship in Gqeberha, which took place on Saturday at Pollok Beach in the Summerstrand area.
At the wet Spar Women's 10-kilometer Championship in Gqeberha on Saturday morning, Xaba finished with a time of 31:17, only five seconds behind her national record of 31:12.
Second place was taken by Xaba's teammate from Boxer Athletics Club, Karabo More, with a time of 32:21. Third place was secured by Selam Gebre from Ethiopia, representing Nedbank Running Club, with a time of 32:33.
Xaba, who participated in the half marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Denmark last week, set a very fast pace from the start on the new course. Gebre and More kept up the pace early in the race, while the leading trio quickly increased the gap with the other elite participants.
The leaders passed the 3-kilometer mark in approximately 9 minutes and 40 seconds, after which More could not maintain the relentless pace set by Xaba on the next kilometer. Gebre managed to hold on for a short time, but she also found the pace of the South African runner too high, especially when the light drizzle turned into heavy rain.
By the time the route entered the Nelson Mandela University campus, Xaba had pulled away from her rivals by almost 100 meters. At this point, the outcome of the race was decided, and the record holder continued to advance confidently. Passing 8 kilometers around the 25th minute, with a slight downhill ahead, achieving her record seemed quite realistic.
Ultimately, the 'Supercharge' was one second shorter than her personal best, although her dominance was unquestionable. Fourth place was occupied by Sian Oldnow with a time of 33:09, fifth by Karina Viljoen with a time of 33:12, and Karabo Mailula finished sixth with a time of 33:17, indicating the dominance of South African runners in the top six. Casicile Sosibo, the leader of the KasiCity Grand Prix series, took seventh place with a time of 33:24, having another race in this series.
Meanwhile, Jaden Kari from Durban completed her 103rd Spar Women's race, setting a new record for the total number of participations in this iconic women's event.