South African athlete, Glenrose ‘Supercharge’ Xaba, starts her campaign to become the fourth athlete to have won the prestigious SPAR Women’s Grand Prix title when the 2025 series gets underway in Cape Town this Sunday (30 March).
SPAR is associated with both mass appeal and goodie bags as well as providing a stage for Africa’s top women athletes over sub-marathon distances and sixteen-thousand participants will take part in the season opener on Sunday.
Packed with interest and entertainment, Sunday will showcase Xaba’s, attempt to join fellow South Africans Rene Kalmer and Irvette van Zyl and Ethiopian Tadu Nare to have won three SPAR Grand Prix titles.
Double Olympian (Beijing 2008 and London 2012), Kalmer reflected this week on what SPAR had meant to her career. “I’m forever grateful to SPAR for what the series did for my career. I think I competed in 75 odd SPAR races and won 28 of them!” Kalmer recalled.
“Let’s cross fingers for Glenrose – I’m very hopeful she can defend her title this year. I won’t be in Cape Town this weekend, but I’m sending best wishes to all competing in the SPAR series this year. I’ll be rooting for you, even if it’s on facebook.”
Durban grandmaster athlete, Grace de Oliveira, will be back in Cape Town on Sunday to add to her remarkable and historic tally of 108 SPAR races.
In 2024, Xaba became the first South African runner to win the prestigious SPAR Grand Prix since it was opened to international athletes in 2019 and the only one to be able to defeat the strong Ethiopian challenge. She was also the last South African winner, in 2018.
“Winning the SPAR Grand Prix has been a dream and a goal that I’ve had for many years,” said Xaba. “And to have won it twice is a career highlight for sure. To be referred to as a defending champion is surreal.
“For South African women, this opens the path again for us to fight to keep winning this series because we are more than capable of doing so.
“I thank SPAR for taking care of women athletes through this series, not only financially but to be able to compete in a women’s only race series is terrific for us women,” she said. “This year, I aim to remain injury free and have a healthy season. I look forward to running the SPAR Grand Prix series again and fighting for that top spot.”
Xaba is in good form. Off the back of racing to a national marathon record in Cape Town last October, she started the year by winning the 10 000m at the AGN Track and Field Championships in 31:56 (one second off her 10km road best).
But she can expect some tough competition in the five races that make up the SPAR Grand Prix. Others taking part include Ethiopian runners and former SPAR Grand Prix runners-up 19-year-old Diniya Abaraya and 23-year-old Selam Fente Gebre, as well as newcomer Tsihay Gebru, who has a personal best of 32:09.
Abaraya raced to her best 10km time of 31:42 in finishing a close second to Xaba in Cape Town last March and the talented teenager will be out to revenge her defeat on Sunday.
Exciting news is that Russian born, former Czech runner, Olga Firsova, now registered in Australia, but a permanent South African resident living in Stellenbosch, has entered the race. Firsova has a personal best time of 32:43, set in Australia in 2023 and recorded an impressive 33.19 in New York last year making her a contender for a top five position on Sunday.
Kenyan athlete, Fridah Ndinda will be running her maiden SPAR Grand Prix race in Cape Town in the Nedbank colours. The East African athlete ran a career best 32.25 in 2022 and last year in the ABSA Gqeberha 10km she clocked 33.18.
Local runners who will give Xaba a run for her money include Van Zyl (Hollywood Bets), and Boxer teammates Cacisile Sosibo, and the evergreen Phalula twins, Lebo and Lebogang.
Xaba’s mentor, former 800m world and Olympic champion Caster Semenya, will also be taking part. Last year, she entered her first ever 10km race in the Tshwane SPAR Challenge and finished in 10th position.
The course for the Cape Town race starts and ends at the Greenpoint Stadium. It provides an ideal low altitude route with gentle ascents and descents, taking away the monotony of a purely flat route.
The other races are in Durban on June 22, Tshwane on August 2, Gqeberha on September 27 and Johannesburg on October 5.
Meanwhile the SPAR team joined forces this week with the Alta du Toit Centre in Bellville to complete the substantial task for packing the treasured 16,000 goodie bags, filled with sponsors’ products.
The Centre, which supports individuals with intellectual disabilities, plays an integral role in the community, providing training and employment opportunities. This collaboration reflects both the Centre and SPAR’s commitment to inclusion and empowerment, making the event even more meaningful.
