Nadeel Wildschutt and Glenrose Xaba successfully defended their South African 10,000m titles at the Cape Milers Club ASA Grand Prix meeting held at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.
Wildschutt sat back for most of the race, forming part of a large lead group, but with four laps remaining, he launched a furious kick as the pack stretched out behind him, and he coasted to victory in 29:10.57, reports backtrack.co.za
Cwenga Nose grabbed the silver medal in 29:13.69 and Anthony Timoteus held on for bronze in 29:15.99.
“It’s an honour to be in a fortunate position to retain the title. Luckily the race was not inland – it was at the coast – so I had a lot more control of how the race might unfold,” Wildschutt said. “As a result I decided to rather just hold back a little and make it strategic and wait until the last few laps to make a move.”
Xaba (pictured), produced a dominant solo performance to successfully defend her national title at the ASA 10,000m Championships, which were incorporated into the Cape Milers Club ASA Grand Prix meeting.
Representing Athletics Gauteng North, Xaba never gave her rivals else a sniff, running from the front and overlapping every other athlete in a limited field on her way to victory.
Xaba ran a consistent 76-second lap to complete the 25-lap race in 31:40.13, securing her eighth national senior title over the 10 000m distance in the highlight of the meeting, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting.
“It’s very special for me to win this title for the eight time, because it shows I’m very consistent, and it’s not easy to be consistent and maintain your form if you’re not disciplined.”
Cacisile Sosibo took second place in the colours of Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) in 33:38.68, and Karabo Mailula (AGN) was third in 34:12.78.
