Under a punishing Pretoria sun, with the undulating tarmac like a wave beneath thousands of pounding feet, Glenrose Xaba once again confirmed her class by showing she is well on course to rewriting the script of South African women’s road running.
SPAR Tshwane Top Three Photo: Greg Caldecott / Gallo Images
With the Tshwane leg of the SPAR Women’s 10km Grand Prix series hanging in the balance like a photo finish, Xaba summoned one last kick to edge Ethiopian challenger Diniya Abaraya by two seconds.
Xaba stopped the clock at 32 minutes and 39 seconds on a tough hilly course, her third SPAR 10km victory of the season and a giant stride closer to becoming the third South African and the first black woman to claim the Grand Prix crown three times.
Photo: Reg Caldecott / Gallo Images
“I thought I had dropped them, so I wasn’t aware how close they were,” admitted Xaba, her voice still catching her breath at the finish line in Centurion’s SuperSport Park, where a sold-out field of 17,000 women had converged like a sea of determination.
The opening stretch saw veteran Irvette van Zyl surge out like a sprinter shot from a starter’s pistol, reminding everyone why she’s a three-time series champion.
But the race soon took on the shape of a familiar duel: Xaba, the Ethiopian pair of Abaraya and Selam Gebre, and Kenya’s Debrah Cherotich formed a lead pack that chewed up the hills together until Xaba broke away with three kilometres to go—only to be nearly reeled in again.
Abaraya, runner-up in 32:41, was left in awe: “I am amazed at how powerful she is, taking the lead from the start and staying there,” she said, still feeling the sting of Tshwane’s hills. Gebre (33:17) took third, while Cherotich (33:38) claimed fourth.
Xaba, who shattered the South African marathon record in 2:22:22 at last year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and just clinched her sixth national half marathon title a week ago, credited her resilience to her inner circle.
“My coach, Violet, and Caster Semenya help me in so many ways by keeping me injury free and working out strategies for me,” she said.
But she was just as quick to salute her East African rivals. “They are making us competitive internationally.”
Now 30, with a stride as relentless as her ambition, Xaba sees her victories as stepping stones for the generation that follows.
“They can see my success and believe they can succeed too,” she said with quiet conviction.
Even Van Zyl, now 38 and fresh off a gold at the Comrades Marathon, beamed at the new wave cresting behind her. She finished a solid eighth in 34:42, but her heart was clearly with those ahead of her.
“I am so thrilled to see a South African winning again. I’ve watched Glenrose since she started, and I am so impressed by her,” said Van Zyl, passing the baton not just in spirit, but with sincere admiration.
With two races left in Gqeberha on Saturday, 27 September and Johannesburg on Sunday, 5 October left in the SPAR Grand Prix Series, Xaba is well on course to making history.
