Defending series champion Glenrose Xaba had to dig deep on Sunday morning, but she managed to hold off a challenge from Ethiopia’s Selam Gebre to win the opening leg of the 2025 SPAR Grand Prix in Cape Town.
Pushing the pace hard at the start, Xaba (Boxer Athletics Club) pulled two athletes with her in the early stages -– Gebre and another Ethiopian, Meseret Fita (both representing Nedbank Running Club) – as they opened a gap on a larger chasing group.
Approaching halfway, however, 41-year-old Lebo Phalula (Boxer) put in a surge to drag some of the chase group with her as they closed the gap on the leaders.
The pace eventually took its toll, and the athletes dropped off one by one until only Gebre was left hanging on to Xaba’s shoulder in the closing stages.
Having led from the gun, Xaba kicked with less than a kilometre to go and finally managed to shake off Gebre as she drew clear for a hard-fought win in 33:13.
Gebre finished five seconds off the pace in 33:18, while Xaba’s training partner Karabo Mailula (Tuks Athletics) stepped on the podium at a SPAR Grand Prix race for the first time in her career, crossing the finish line in third place in 33:35. Phalula finished in an impressive fourth position behind fourth- placed Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer).
Russian-born Australian Ola Firsova who now lives in Stellenbosch finished in the top ten in eight positions.
Xaba was pleased to have opened the defence of her series title with a victory. “I’m happy with the race but I’m a little disappointed with my time,” said Xaba, who holds the South African 10km record of 31:12.
Gebre was also satisfied with her result, just two weeks after she finished second at the Rome Marathon in Italy in 2:28:22.
“To be honest, I need a little more time to recover from the marathon, and I felt the wind was a bit harsh, but I did my best and I’m happy with the result,” Gebre said.
Photo: Gallo Images
