Pregnant former West Rand athlete ends third
Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank), a former West Rander who is six months pregnant with her second child, came third in the first leg of the Spar Grand Prix in Cape Town.
Spar Grand Prix title holder Kesa Molotsane (KPMG), who dominated the Spar Women’s 10km Series last year, continued her winning ways on Sunday, 25 March, with a comprehensive win in the opening race of the 2018 series at the Bellville Stadium in Cape Town.
Her winning time was 34 minutes and 10 seconds.
Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) was second, in 34 minutes and 39 seconds and Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) – a former West Rander – was third in 35 minutes and 7 seconds. It was an amazing performance by the three-times winner of the Spar Grand Prix, because she is six months pregnant with her second child.
Christine Kalmer (KPMG) took the lead initially, running just ahead of Maria Shai (Boxer), with a number of other runners including Kesa and Irvette, running in a group behind them.
Approaching the 4km mark, Glenrose and Zintle Xiniwe pulled ahead and Christine and Irvette appeared to lose touch, but at the halfway point, Irvette surged ahead of the pack. Glenrose and Zintle were close behind and for a time, Durbanville runner Olga Firsova took the lead. However, she fell back and Kesa, who was looking very comfortable, applied her famous kick and took over the lead. She finished well ahead of the rest of the runners.
“It was a great start to the year for me,” said Kesa, who said she had been suffering from flu after returning from the African cross-country championships in Algeria.
“I only discovered on Wednesday that we weren’t running at Greenpoint, but I liked the route. There were some hills, but they’re not like Johannesburg’s hills. I think it was challenging, but it wasn’t that hard. I was thinking to possibly go all out after 7km, because that’s where the race really starts, so I told myself just to relax and then kick. When Kesa kicked, I just tried to go with her,” said Glenrose.
Irvette was beaming at the post-race media conference.
“I really enjoyed the race,” she said. “I was quite confused when I found myself in the lead at the halfway mark. I have been listening to my body and I am very happy with the way I ran today, because I haven’t been training like an elite athlete, as I would normally do. The last two kilometres, which were downhill, were easy – I just leaned forward and the baby gave me momentum.
“I am doing the Two Oceans half marathon next week, and that may be my last race before the birth. But who knows – I might run the Port Elizabeth Spar race, if I am still allowed to fly.”
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