ROAD RUNNING

Tadu Nare clinched her third successive SPAR Grand Prix title when she cruised to victory in the Tshwane leg of the 2023 series . The young Ethiopian superstar has dominated the series since it resumed in 2021 after the COVID-enforced break in 2020 , losing only one race out of the 16 she has competed in over three years .

It was also an Ethiopian one-two as Selam Gebre finished second on the final log , even though there is still one race to go in the 2023 Series . This is because of the series rule change introduced this year , which now sees the four best points scores out of the six races count as an athlete ’ s final tally . Therefore , Nare has an unassailable , perfect 120 points after four bonus points victories . Gebre is on 116 points after her five second-place finishes in the series , and likewise , cannot be caught by the chasing pack .

This means that Nare will collect R200,000 and Gebre R100,000 for their efforts this year , in addition to

Selam Gebre

Blandina Makatisi

their individual winnings at each race . Nare therefore stands to take home R320,000 , even if she misses the final Johannesburg race , and in total , the diminutive Ethiopian has now earned more than R900,000 in three years of racing in the South African series . This makes all the travelling back and forth from Addis Ababa to Johannesburg worthwhile .

Local Stars Chasing Prizes

The battle for third place in the 2023 SPAR Grand Prix has been a season-long contest between SA ’ s Glenrose Xaba and Lesotho ’ s Blandina Makatisi . The South African kept her nose in front early in the year , but Makatisi ’ s consistency over the Mbombela and Tshwane legs saw her end up with a nail-biting victory with 109 points to Xaba ’ s 108 . Cacisile Sosibo has

been rewarded for a wonderfully consistent season by earning 80 points , a definite fifth-place finish .

With one race to go , sixth and seventh places are yet to be decided . Cian Oldknow is on 72 points and Kesa Molotsane has 71 points , but Oldknow has scored in only three races so far , so a good finish in Johannesburg could boost her “ best four ” tally , while Molotsane will need to beat Oldknow by at least two positions in Johannesburg if she wants to move up to sixth . The Phalula twins , Lebo and Lebogang , both previous SPAR Grand Prix winners , are safe and sound in eighth and ninth places respectively .

This year SPAR announced that there would be additional prize money available to the top five South Africans at the end of the season . Thus far , Xaba and Sosibo are guaranteed first and second respectively , and will take home R75,000 and R50,000 for headlining the local challenge . The Oldknow- Molotsane showdown in Johannesburg will determine third and fourth places , while Lebo Phalula is sure of fifth place .

This is how the series standings look after the fifth race in Tshwane , with individual runners scoring points in their categories , and clubs scoring points depending on how many athletes qualified for points in these categories .

1 Tadu Nare Nedbank / Ethiopia 120

1 Simone Botha Boxer 14

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