Staff Reporter.
International athletes dominated the Joburg SPAR Grand Prix Women’s 10km at Marks Park on Sunday, with only three South Africans finishing in the top ten.
Ethiopian runner Tadu Nare (Nedbank) won the race in 33:32 minutes and is virtually assured of claiming the SPAR Grand Prix title for a second time.
The 2019 winner, Namibian Helalia Johannes (Nedbank) was second in 34:07, just ahead of the Ethiopian junior, Salem Gebre, (Nedbank), who finished in 34:12.
The 2018 SPAR Grand Prix winner, Glenrose Xaba, was the first South African home. She finished fourth in 34:25. Her Boxer teammate Cacisile Sosibo was sixth in 34:45, followed by Kesa Molotsane ((Murray & Roberts), who finished in 35:06 minutes.
The other top ten runners came from Ethiopia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
The top runners were in a close bunch for much of the race. Johannes had a fall early in the race, but picked herself up and caught up with the leaders, despite a badly bruised leg. Nare made her break at nine kilometres, sprinting to the finish. Johannes and Gebre were neck and neck over the last kilometre, with Johannes just pipping Gebre across the line.
Nare was excited to have won her fourth race of the series.
“I ran a half marathon in Denmark last week and I was still tired after that, so I thought Helalia would win. But with a kilometre to go, I just made my break and went for it,” said Nare.
Gebre said that with a few more metres, she might have beaten Johannes.
“It was a very close finish and I was pushing myself as hard as I could. Just a few more metres and I could have taken it,” she said.
Xaba was happy with her position. She said she was tired after a number of races, but was always happy to run in the SPAR Grand Prix races.
The South African runners agreed that it was important to have the international runners in the SPAR Grand Prix series, even though it meant that prize money was harder to come by.
“We need to run against international athletes so we can see how well we are doing,” said Xaba.
“They help you to push your boundaries and they bring something different to the race.”
Adele Broodryk, who was the first South African home in the Comrades Marathon in August, finishing third, suggested it was time for South African athletes to start working together to improve their times.
“We all train individually and we are too scared to let anyone else see what we are doing, “she said.
Broodryk, who has a PhD in Sports Science, said it was important to organise training camps and to share knowledge and experience.
“We need to work together to bridge the gap,” she said.
Xaba suggested that South African runners should help each other in races as well.
“You see Tadu helping Salem, and the Kenyan runners always work together,” she said.
“I think we should do the same and that should help us to do better against the international runners.”
The final race of the series will be in Cape Town on Sunday, 23 October.
OVERALL TOP 10 RESULTS:
1. Tadu Nare (Nedbank) 33:32; 2. Helalia Johannes (Nedbank) 34:07; 3. Selam Gebre (Nedbank) 34:12; 4. Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) 34:25 5. Meskerem Fikadu (Ethiopia) 34:40; 6. Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer) 34:45 ; 7. Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts) 35:06; 8. Blandina Makatisi (Maxed Elite) 35:10; 9. Hawi Regassa (Ethiopia) 35:17; 10. Caroline Mhandu (Maxed Elite) 35:57.
JUNIOR:
1. Selam Gebre (Nedbank) 34:12; 2. Karabo Motsoeneng (Prestige College) 39:08; 3. Li-Mari Dekker (Boxer) 39:28
40-49:
1. Helalia Johannes ( Nedbank) 34:07; 2. Charne Bosman (Murray & Roberts) 39:47; 4. Rene Kalmer (Murray & Roberts) 39:58
50-59:
1. Marili Munnik (Murray & Roberts) 42:48; 2. Elizabeth Potter (32GI) 43:27; 3. Ronel Thomas (Boxer) 43:33
60+:
1.Judy Bird (Murray and Roberts) 44:05; 2. Karen Brough (Murray & Roberts) 48:33; 3. Grace de Oliveira (Murray & Roberts) 49:50.