Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 124, November 2019 | Page 25

ADVERTORIAL
Johannes
Completes
Clean Sweep
in SPAR
Grand Prix
Six wins out
of six for
Johannes in
the 2019 SPAR
Women’s
Grand Prix!
Namibian Helalia Johannes wins the SPAR Women’s
Challenge Joburg in a course record 33:16
The 2019 SPAR Grand Prix series came to an end on Sunday
6 October with the running of the SPAR Women’s 10km
Challenge Joburg at Marks Park Sports Club, and with yet
another record-breaking run, Namibian Helalia Johannes
clinched the overall title in a series she has totally dominated
all year!
N
amibian sensation Helalia Johannes (Nedbank) showed no signs of fatigue
just over a week after she won the bronze medal in the women’s marathon
at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, as she put on another stellar
performance to post a sixth consecutive record-breaking win in the SPAR Grand
Prix series. She crossed the line in a course record time of 33:16.
Behind her, Comrades Marathon winner Gerda Steyn was second in 34:28, and
last year’s SPAR Joburg winner, Irvette Van Zyl, was third in 34:40. Ethiopian junior
Tadu Nare, who finished second in the previous five SPAR races, had to settle for
fourth this time round in 35:07, while last year’s SPAR Grand Prix winner, Glenrose
Xaba, was fifth in 35:23. Other highlights of the day saw former Comrades
champion Charne Bosman take the veteran’s category win, and Grandmaster
Sonja Laxton notched up her 100th SPAR Women’s Challenge finish, as more than
13,000 runners took part in the 10km Challenge and the 5km Fun Run.
Dominant Form
As in the previous SPAR Women’s Challenge races, Johannes went out fast and led
from start to finish. Initially, she was joined by a bunch that included Steyn, Van Zyl,
Nare and Xaba, but she soon pulled clear and powered on alone for the win. Steyn
and Van Zyl dropped back at this stage, but they made up the ground on Nare and
Xaba on the uphill part of the race, with Steyn using her strength to take second.
After the race, Johannes said it had been difficult to recover from the World
Championships and still win in Johannesburg, but everything had gone to plan. “I
prepared very well for the marathon in Doha and I think that I was able to do well
here in Johannesburg because I really am super-fit,” she said. “I am very happy to
have won again.”
SPAR Grand Prix coordinator Ian Laxton said Johannes’s performance in the six
Challenge races had been exceptional. “She earned the maximum points in each
race, earning bonus points every time and taking the other runners with her,” said
Laxton. “No-one has been this dominant in the SPAR Grand Prix before.”
Podium Success
Steyn, who was preparing for the New York Marathon on November 6, said she
used the SPAR Joburg Challenge to work on her speed for New York. “It’s a great
way to prepare,” she said. “I knew that the second half of the race was uphill, so I
stuck as close as I could to the leaders on the downhill, because my strength is in
my stamina and endurance. I always do well on the hills.” Clearly the speedwork
helped, as she went on to post a 2:27:48 In New York, taking her up to fourth on
the all-time list of fastest SA female marathoners, and qualifying her for the 2020
Olympic Marathon in Tokyo! “The SPAR Challenge races are great – I love taking
part in a women’s race,” she said.
The top three in Joburg, Steyn,
Johannes and Van Zyl
An emotional Van Zyl said she had had a rollercoaster year, and was very pleased
to have finished on the podium in the race she won last year. Keep in mind that
Van Zyl underwent surgery for an ongoing neural problem in her groin earlier this
year, and she said, “My next goal is the Soweto Marathon on 3 November, where
I am hoping to win for the third time. It’s been a tough year, but I hope I will be in
better shape then.” Well, clearly the workout in the SPAR Joburg race helped her
recover her speed, stamina and confidence, as she stormed to the win in Soweto in
2:34:01, only narrowly missing her own course record by 18 seconds.
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