Former Olympic 800m Champion Caster Semenya finished 10th in her debut 10km race
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Janene Carey and Ronel Thomas ran their 100th SPAR Women ’ s Challenge race
SPAR GRAND PRIX STILL WIDE OPEN
The 2024 SPAR Grand Prix is still wide open , after the completion of three of the five races in the SPAR Women ’ s 10km Challenge series . Glenrose Xaba ’ s stellar performance in the Tshwane race , where she beat Ethiopian Tadu Nare by a full two minutes , has given the Boxer runner a 31-point cushion on the SPAR Grand Prix ladder , and she was the only senior runner to earn maximum bonus points for finishing the race in the predetermined target time . She has earned full bonus points in all three races so far , having won the race in Cape Town and finished a very close second to Nare in Durban .
SPAR GRAND PRIX 2024 LEADERBOARD
This is how the series standings look after the third race in Tshwane on 3 August .
OPEN CATEGORY |
1 |
Glenrose Xaba |
Boxer |
89 |
2 |
Cacisile Sosibo |
Boxer |
58 |
3 |
Diniya Abaraya |
Nedbank / Ethiopia |
55 |
4 |
Tadu Nare |
Nedbank / Ethiopia |
54 |
5 |
Lebo Phalula-Mzazi Boxer |
40 |
6 |
Karabo Mailula |
Tuks |
32 |
7 |
Neheng Khatala |
Hollywood / Lesotho 28 |
8 |
Lebogang Phalula-Luthuli |
Boxer |
27 |
8 |
Kesa Molotsane |
Kovsies |
27 |
8 |
Blandina Makatisi |
Maxed Elite / Lesotho 27 |
SOUTH AFRICAN ATHLETES |
1 |
Glenrose Xaba |
Boxer |
89 |
2 |
Cacisile Sosibo |
Boxer |
58 |
3 |
Lebo Phalula-Mzazi Boxer |
40 |
4 |
Karabo Mailula |
Tuks |
32 |
5 |
Lebogang Phalula-Luthuli |
Boxer |
27 |
40-49 YEARS |
1 |
Lebo Phalula-Mzazi |
Boxer |
29 |
2 |
Lebogang Phalula-Luthuli |
Boxer |
28 |
3 |
Jeannie Henderson |
Nedbank 3 |
3 |
Christiane Adriaanse |
Nedbank 3 |
3 |
Fikile Mbuthuma |
Phantane 3 |
Cacisile Sosibo , who came third in Tshwane , is second on the log after also finishing fourth in Cape Town and seventh in Durban , with five bonus points in Cape Town and Tshwane . Three-time SPAR Grand Prix winner Nare missed the Cape Town leg of the series , then won in Durban with 10 bonus points , but though she was second to Xaba in Tshwane , she only earned five bonus points , and is currently in fourth position , just behind her compatriot Diniya Abaraya , who ended second to Xaba in Cape Town and fifth in Durban , but earned full bonus points in both races . As can be seen , the bonus points are having a major influence on the SPAR Grand Prix standings this year !
The final SPAR Grand Prix points will come from four of the five races in Cape Town , Durban , Tshwane , Gqeberha and Johannesburg , with the athlete ’ s top four results counting . This provision was introduced so that runners were not disadvantaged if they had to miss a race because of injury or because they were representing their country internationally . Therefore , with two races to go , Nare still has an opportunity to overtake Xaba for the overall lead , provided she earns maximum bonus points . However , Xaba , who was the last South African to win the SPAR Grand Prix title , has made it clear that she is determined to win again . “ I am very focused , and I want to win the SPAR Grand Prix . I won it in 2018 , and I know I can win it again ,” she says .
In 2019 , international athletes became eligible to win the SPAR Grand Prix , which meant more international runners decided to compete for the very generous prize money . Namibian Helalia Johannes won in 2019 , and Nare won in 2021 , 2022 and 2023 . ( There was no series in 2020 , because of the COVID-19 pandemic .) The winner of this year ’ s SPAR Grand Prix will receive R200,000 while the runner-up will receive R100,000 and third will take home R75,000 . On top of the prize money on offer , the first South African on the year-end leaderboard will receive a bonus cheque of R75,000 , plus will get to drive a luxury Proton X50 SUV for a calendar year .
Xaba leads the SPAR Grand Prix points log after three races
Cacisile Sosibo ’ s bonus points have taken her to second place
50-59 YEARS |
1 |
Anne Stewart |
Atlantic |
29 |
2 |
Janene Carey |
Boxer |
19 |
3 |
Ronel Thomas |
Boxer |
17 |
60-69 YEARS |
1 |
Judy Bird |
Boxer |
30 |
2 |
Karen Brough |
Boxer |
23 |
3 |
Grace de Oliveira |
Maxed Elite |
20 |
Tadu Nare could still win a fourth Grand Prix title this year
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