FEATURE
4 MINS
Glenrose Xaba
is looking to bloom on the world stage
South African long-distance running sensation Glenrose Xaba experienced an outstanding 2024 where her career literally and figuratively blossomed like a rose in full bloom . Affectionately known as Supercharger , she is currently in the form of her life and is determined to kick on and reach even greater heights in 2025 . - By Adnaan Mohamed
The soft-spoken athlete is taking some welldeserved time off with her family in eMbalenhle , in Mpumalanga Province about 10 km from Secunda , where she reflected on her remarkable year in an exclusive interview with Modern Athlete .
Glenrose has set her sights on the World Track & Field and the World Half Marathon Championships as her focus for 2025 . The Boxer athlete , coached by former double 800m Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya and wife Violet , exceeded all expectations last year and firmly established herself as one of the best female distance athletes the Rainbow Nation has ever produced .
“ Until recently I was still at a training camp in Limpopo near Paledi Mall where we trained consistently for two weeks doing lots of mileage , long runs , endurance and speed work in preparation for 2025 . “ We returned in early January , and I spent a few days with my coach in Limpopo . I went home to Mpumalanga on 6 January to spend time with my family and will return to Pretoria at the end of January .”
Glenrose eclipsed former Olympic 10,000 m silver medallist Elana Meyer ’ s respected South African 10km record of 31:13 ( set in Budapest in 2001 ) on 7 July at the Absa Run Your City 10km in Durban . She shaved one second off Meyer ’ s 23-year-old record with a time of 31:12 .
The diminutive athlete secured another milestone on 25 August by running the fastest 10km time ( 31:51 ) ever by a South African woman at altitude ( 1350 meters above sea level ) at the Absa Run Your City 10km in Tshwane ( Pretoria ).
It was the second fastest time of her career and also a route record in the Jacaranda City . She smashed the time of 2023 champion Debash Desta of Ethiopia by 23 seconds . The previous best time by an SA woman inland of 32.20 was run by the legendary Zola Budd way back in 1983 in Bloemfontein .
On 24 September , Glenrose set a course record ( 31:55 ) at the Absa Run Your City Joburg 10km with a time of 31:55 . It was her third sub-32-minute 10km race and cemented her place as one of the country ’ s best elite middle-distance women athletes of all time .
On 6 October she clinched the final leg of the Spar Women ’ s 10km Grand Prix Series in Johannesburg in a time of 32:48 . She was declared the overall Grand Prix winner and became the first SA athlete since 2018 to win the Spar series .
16 ISSUE 176 | www . modernathlete . co . za