Glenrose Xaba dominates wet Gqeberha Women’s 10km Challenge

Glenrose Xaba fell just five seconds short of matching her national record of 31:12 at a wet Spar Women’s 10km Challenge in Gqeberha on Saturday morning, claiming victory in a winning time of 31:17.

Xaba’s Boxer Athletics Club teammate Karabo More finished second in 32:21, while Ethiopia’s Selam Gebre, running in the colours of Nedbank Runnning Club, claimed third in 32:33.

Xaba, who competed in the half marathon at last weekend’s World Athletics Road Running Championships in Denmark, set an explosive pace from the start on the new course.

Gebre and More kept pace early on as the leading trio quickly built a gap over the rest of the elite field.

The leaders passed the 3km mark in approximately 9:40 before More dropped off the relentless tempo set by Xaba over the next kilometre. Gebre managed to hang on briefly, but she too found the South African flyer’s pace too hot to handle as the light drizzle turned into a steady downpour.

By the time the route entered the Nelson Mandela University campus, Xaba had pulled almost 100 metres clear. At that point, the outcome was settled, and the national record holder continued to power forward. Passing 8km near the 25-minute mark with a slight downhill stretch ahead, matching her record looked entirely within reach.

In the end, “Supercharger” fell agonisingly short of her personal best, though her dominance was never in doubt.

Cian Oldknow finished fourth in 33:09, Carina Viljoen took fifth in 33:12, and Karabo Mailula ended sixth in 33:17 as South African runners swept the top spots. Grand Prix series leader Cacisile Sosibo finished seventh in 33:24 with just one race remaining in the series.

Meanwhile, Durban’s Janene Carey ran her 103rd Spar Women’s race, setting a new benchmark for total appearances in the iconic women-only event.

@RowanCallaghan

IOL Sport