Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 119, June 2019 | Page 83

ADVERTORIAL
FOREIGN RUNNERS DOMINATE SPAR GRAND PRIX
The 2019 SPAR Grand Prix appears to be destined to be
won by a foreign runner for the first time in its history.
That’s because Namibian sensation Helalia Johannes
has made a solid start in her quest for Grand Prix glory
by winning the first two SPAR Women’s 10km races of
the year, and in both Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, she
not only broke the course records, but also set two new
Namibian 10km records. She clocked 31:51 in PE, then
went still faster with a 31:45 in Cape Town.
Namibian sensation Helalia Johannes (Nedbank) currently
leads the SPAR Grand Prix points log with 60 points after the
first two races in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, recording
course records and new Namibian national records in both
races, and earning 10 bonus points in each race for beating the
previous year’s winning times.
W
ith her win in Cape Town, it means Johannes has accumulated 60
points, having earned 10 bonus points in both races. In fact, the Cape
Town SPAR Challenge is remarkable in that the first 11 runners to cross
the finish line all recorded times under 34 minutes, and all earned valuable bonus
points for going faster than the 2018 winning time. Granted, the race returned to
the flat Green Point precinct this year, after a brief move to the hilly Bellville area in
2018, and this made it possible for the women to go that much faster, but it was
still a very fast race! (Seven runners also earned bonus points in Port Elizabeth.)
Having finished second in Port Elizabeth and third in Cape Town, the exciting
Ethiopian junior, Tadu Teshame is in second position in the Grand Prix standings,
with 57 points. Two former Grand Prix winners, Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts)
and Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) are in third and fourth place. Molotsane finished
third in Port Elizabeth and sixth in Cape Town for a total of 53 points, while Van Zyl
finished fifth and seventh respectively, and has 50 points. Last year’s Grand Prix
winner. Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) has had a quiet year so far, finishing ninth in Port
Elizabeth and 12th in Cape Town, for a total of 21 points.
In 2018, Van Zyl was the only runner to earn bonus points when she won the
Joburg Challenge in record time. In contrast, the fast pace of the races so far this
year can be attributed to the presence of a number of international athletes from
Namibia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, and in Cape Town, the first five to finish
were all runners from other African countries. Molotsane welcomes the presence
of these international athletes, saying, “They stimulate us to run faster, and their
presence will do great things for running in South Africa.”
The junior runners will be earning Grand Prix points in only four of the six SPAR
Challenge races this year, with Cape Town the first of these. Teshame tops the
junior category log on 10 points, with another Ethiopian, Birho Adhena, lying
second on nine points, and Chante Dixon (Murray & Roberts) in third place with
eight.
In the veteran (40-49) age category, Bulelwa Simae (Boxer) is currently first, with
nine points from two races, followed by Janene Carey (Boxer) on seven points
and Christiane Adriaanse (K-Way VOB) on five points. Comrades Marathon gold
medallist Grace De Oliveira (Murray & Roberts) leads the masters (50-59) category
with nine points, followed by Obertina Kangyongo (Nedbank) with five and Christine
Claassen (Achilles PE) with four.
The leader of the 60-plus grandmaster category is Margie Saunders (Nedbank) on
15 points, including five bonus points from the Cape Town race. She is followed by
Olga Howard (Nedbank), who also earned bonus points in Cape Town for a total of
nine points, while Nancy Will (Pinelands) has six points.
In the club competition, Maxed Elite Zimbabwe leads the way with 91 points,
followed by Nedbank Ethiopia with 67 and Nedbank International with 60. The
leading South African team is Murray & Roberts FS with 53 points, followed by
Nedbank CG on 50 points.
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