SPAR Grand Prix still wide open

After the completion of three of the five races in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge series the winner of the Grand Prix is still up for grabs with the bonus points are having a major influence on the outcome of the SPAR Grand Prix this year.

Glenrose Xaba’s stellar performance in the Tshwane race at SuperSport Park last Saturday, where she beat Ethiopian Tadu Nare (Nedbank) by a full two minutes, has given the Boxer runner a 31-point cushion on the SPAR Grand Prix ladder.

Xaba, who finished the race in 32:53 minutes, was the only senior runner to earn maximum bonus points for finishing the race in the pre-determined target time. She now has 89 points, having earned full bonus points in all three races so far.  She won the race in Cape Town and finished a very close second to Nare in Durban.

Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer), who came third on Saturday, is second on the log, with 58 points. Sosibo finished fourth in Cape Town and seventh in Durban and earned five bonus points in Cape Town and Tshwane.

Three times SPAR Grand Prix winner Nare missed the Cape Town leg of the series. She won in Durban, with 10 bonus points, but although she was second to Xaba in Tshwane, she only earned five bonus points.  She is currently in fourth position, with 54 points – one behind her compatriot Diniya Abaraya, who came second to Xaba in Cape Town.

Abaraya finished fifth in Durban but earned full bonus points in both races.  She missed the race on Saturday.

The final SPAR Grand Prix points will come from four of the five races in Cape Town, Durban, Tshwane, Gqeberha and Johannesburg, with the athlete’s top four results counting. This provision was introduced so that runners were not disadvantaged if they had to miss a race because of injury or because they were representing their country internationally.

With two races to go, Nare still has an opportunity to overtake the current leader, provided she earns maximum bonus points.

However, Xaba, who was the last South African to win the SPAR Grand Prix title has made it clear that she is determined to win again.

“I am very focused, and I want to win the SPAR Grand Prix.  I won it in 2018 and I know I can win it again,” said Xaba.

In 2019, international athletes became eligible to win the SPAR Grand Prix, with more international runners deciding to compete for the very generous prize money.

Namibian Helalia Johannes won in 2019, and Nare won in 2021, 2022 and 2023.  There was no series in 2020, because of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The winner of this year’s SPAR Grand Prix will receive R200 000. The runner-up will receive R100 000 and the person coming third will earn R75 000.

On top of the prize money on offer, the first South African on the year-end leader board will receive a bonus cheque of R75 000 plus to drive a luxury Proton X50 SUV for a calendar year.