Images : Action Photo SA , Anthony Grote , Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images , Darren Stweart / Gallo Images

On 7 July this year , in the record-breaking Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K , Xaba shattered her own personal best by 43 seconds as she finished fourth woman overall and first South African in a scintillating 31:12 . While race winner Christine Nalimo Njoki of Kenya crossed the line in 30:37 to not only set a new SA All-comers Record , as well as the fastest time ever run by a woman on the African continent , the highlight of the day for local fans of the sport was Xaba ’ s performance .

“ I ’ m over the moon that finally I ’ ll be recognised as the record-holder . The day before the race , I told myself that I ’ m going for a record , so , on the morning of race day , I prayed hard to God in order to achieve it ,” says Xaba . “ I have always wanted to own a national record in my career , especially a record of Elana Meyer , because she is the runner I look up to , and my inspiration in life . Since a young age , she told me that one day I ’ ll own the record , because I ’ m strong . She is my mentor , and I also want to thank my coaches , Caster and Violet Semenya , for believing in me .”

Path to Greatness

If one looks at Xaba ’ s results over the last year and a half , it is clear to see that this national record was on the cards , as she promised . In late March 2023 she won a fourth consecutive SA 10,000m title , clocking 33:02:13 to claim her 17th national title on all surfaces , and just a few days later , in early April , she ran a personal best 32:25 in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K , taking eight seconds off her previous best .

In late May , she posted an even faster 32:12 at the SPAR Women ’ s Challenge race in Gqeberha , followed in early June by a 1:08:37 personal best as she finished second overall and first South African at the NMB Half Marathon in Gqeberha , which also played host to the SA Champs . This was her fourth consecutive 21.1km national title , and 18th national title overall , and moved her to third on the SA all-time list .

Then came a real breakthrough , as she clocked 31:55 in the SPAR race in Durban in late June 2023 , making her just the fourth South African woman to dip under 32 minutes for the 10km distance . That moved her up to third place in the country ’ s rankings of fastest alltime 10km athletes , with only Meyer and Colleen De Reuck ahead of her . After that race , Xaba confidently predicted that she planned to keep improving and would be gunning for Meyer ’ s record .

Glenrose gave everything to take a second off Elana Meyer ’ s 23-year-old SA Record

More great results were to follow . In November 2023 , Xaba claimed her third national 10km title , clocking her second-fastest career time of 32:07 . Moving into 2024 , she claimed another 10km national title in March , and added both the 5000m and 10,000m titles at the SA Track & Field Champs in late April . This made her the reigning SA Champ at 5000m , 10,000 , 10km and the half marathon , and in June this year , she won her fifth consecutive SA 21km title , giving her a clean-sweep of all four titles in the same calendar year , and her 23rd national title overall . Xaba is now the only South African , male or female , to win the SA 21km title five consecutive times .

Inspired by Elana

In late June , Xaba clocked 31:56 , just one second out side her best , at the 2024 edition of the SPAR Durban race , and once again said she felt she could go faster , and she was proven right just a few weeks later at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K . In what many now see as her finest hour to date , as she rewrote the record books by taking down Meyer ’ s mark , just over a year after promising that she would do so .

The diminutive 29-year-old Boxer Athletics Club runner , who originally hails from Emalahleni in Mpumalanga , actually has a longstanding relationship with Meyer . Some years back , Xaba was part of Endurocad , the running development programme founded by Meyer in order to assist up-and-coming runners , especially those from underprivileged communities , giving them a chance to become future champions while getting a good education at the same time .

“ The time I was still under Endurocad in Cape Town , Elana always emphasised that I was a strong athlete , and I had all that I needed to be a great runner in the future . She was always telling me to work hard in order to fulfil my dreams , but I must also believe in what I do in order to succeed . She further said I have the potential of owning the record not only in 10km , but also up to the half marathon and the marathon , too . So , to see it finally happening , I am now sure I ’ m on the right track to becoming one of the best runners in the country .”

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