Glenrose Xaba once again showed her class when she blazed through the Jozi SPAR Women’s 10 km Challenge winning her fifth consecutive race in the highly popular sold-out event across the country.
After winning the Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and Gqeberha legs of the 2025 Spar Grand Prix Series, Glenrose stormed across the finish line at Marks Park Sports Club on Sunday morning in Emmarentia over a toughy hilly course. She blitzed the route in 33:07 to leave her rivals trailing in her wake.
Ethiopian Diniya Abaraya (Nedbank) clocked 33:42 for second, while Irvette van Zyl (Hollywood) claimed third in 34:35.
The evergreen Van Zyl,38, came out of the blocks like a bullet, setting the early tone before easing off and letting the race settle. That’s when Xaba hit her stride.
She went shoulder-to-shoulder with Abaraya and her compatriot Selam Gebre, until the six-kilometre mark, when she broke free like a sprinter pulling clear on the final bend.
Glenrose Xaba and Irvette van Zyl surrounded by a trio of Ethiopian athletes. Photo: Greg Caldecott
“Irvette got us to a very fast start, and I am grateful for that. Then Selam and Diniya forced the pace until about four kilometres,” said Glenrose.
“From six kilometres, I just focused on my splits and on my own running,” she said.
“I am very happy to be the first South African to win all five SPAR Grand Prix races this year, and to have won the SPAR Grand Prix for the third time.”
Five SPAR victories in one season, three Grand Prix titles overall, was a clear reminder that Glenrose Xaba is setting the benchmark for women’s road running in South Africa.
Abaraya, showing strong form after a year of consistent improvement, admitted the Jozi route was no walk in the park.
“I had a good race today, although I found the hills very challenging,” she said.
Van Zyl, meanwhile, was thrilled to be back in the mix. Her trademark grit shone through even after a shaky buildup.
“I went into the race with no expectations. I felt horrible yesterday and even wondered if I would be able to run. I just wanted to do my best.”
A veteran of the series and a three-time Grand Prix champion herself, Van Zyl credited Xaba for elevating the competition.
“Glenrose has given everyone the belief that they can do better, and I think the international athletes will soon struggle to win the SPAR Grand Prix again,” said Van Zyl.
Further back in the field,Gerda Steyn, South Africa’s ultra marathon marvel, treated the 10km as a tune-up for the upcomingSanlam Cape Town Marathon on Sunday, 19 October. Despite experiencing an injury setback that threatened her participation in the race, she still pitched up to finish in 11th position.
“I love the vibe and the experience of running in a women’s only race. I find lining up with thousands of other women inspirational.”
Gerda Steyn at the finish of the Spar Jozi 10k Photo: Adnaan Mohamed
That energy was everywhere with 12,000 women pounding the pavement in the 10km Challenge and 5km Fun Run, turning the streets into a celebration of strength and solidarity.
Among those cheering was Deputy Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Peace Mabe, who praised SPAR for championing women’s sport and social causes.
JOHANNESURG, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 05: during the 2025 SPAR Womens Grand Prix 10km Challenge and 5km Fun Run at Marks Park Sports Club on October 05, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images)
“It’s only through sponsorship that women’s sports will flourish,” she said.
“I would like to congratulate SPAR for their support for women’s road running and netball, but also for their campaigns to end gender-based violence and period poverty.”
When Gerda Steyn toes the line at the Jozi SPAR Women’s Challenge on Sunday morning in Johannesburg, it will be the final speed test for South Africa’s golden girl of distance running ahead of her biggest marathon of the year.
The multiple Comrades and Two Oceans champion confirmed she will use the 10km race at Marks Park Sports Club as her last tune-up before the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in two weeks’ time.
For Steyn, renowned for her endurance over gruelling ultra distances, the SPAR race offers the perfect chance to sharpen her speed against the country’s and continent’s best.
“The SPAR race is special because it is women only. I am always in Johannesburg at this time of year and so I always try to run it. The route is lovely, and the spirit is awesome.”
“I love running the Jozi SPAR Women’s Challenge,” said Steyn.
Her presence adds extra lustre to an event already buzzing with anticipation. While defending champion Glenrose Xaba will chase a clean sweep of five out of five SPAR Grand Prix titles in 2025, much of the spotlight will inevitably fall on Steyn.
The 34-year-old’s ability to bring marathon strength and ultra-marathon grit into the fast-paced world of 10km road racing makes her an irresistible drawcard.
For fans, Steyn’s participation is not just about whether she can crack the podium on Sunday, but about witnessing the careful fine-tuning of an athlete at the peak of her career.
She will be joined by her Hollywood AC teammate and fellow road-running starIrvette van Zyl, a three-time SPAR Grand Prix champion making a return to the series.
With Cape Town looming large, every stride in Johannesburg will be a statement of intent.
Together, they bring both experience and prestige to a sold-out field of 12,000 runners.
The single-lap 10km course through Emmarentia, Greenside, Linden and Parkview, with its steady climbs and long straights, promises to be a fitting stage for Steyn’s final dress rehearsal before the marathon spotlight shifts to the Mother City.
In a field featuring Ethiopian and Kenyan contenders, as well as South African frontrunners like Xaba and Karabo Mailula, the race will be fiercely contested
Yet, for many eyes will be fixed on national icon Steyn using the SPAR challenge not only to test her legs but to inspire thousands of women running alongside her.
Gqeberha, Eastern Cape – Glenrose Xaba once again turned the SPAR Women’s Challenge into her personal racetrack on Saturday morning, streaking down Marine Drive like a sprinter on rails to seize her fourth straight victory of the 2025 Grand Prix Series and, with it, another chapter of history.
The Boxer Athletic Club dynamo, nicknamed “SuperCharger” for the way she ignites races with a sudden burst of speed stopped the clock at a searing 31:57, her white cap bobbing like a beacon at the head of the pack as she tore through the Windy City air.
She sliced the tape ahead of Hollywood Athletics Club’s Tayla Kavanagh (32:01), while Ethiopia’s Diniya Abaraya (32:04) , clad in Nedbank green, clung on for third.
GQEBERHA, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 27: Glenrose Xaba (L) , Diniya Abaraya and Tayla Kavanagh of Hollywood (R) during the 2025 SPAR Women’s Grand Prix 10km Challenge at Pollok Beach in Gqeberha. Photo: Michael Sheehan/Gallo Images)
Glenrose has now sprinted into an unassailable 115-point lead with one race to spare, making next weekend’s Johannesburg leg little more than a victory lap.
She becomes the first black South African athlete to win the SPAR Grand Prix three times, adding her name once more to a glittering roll call that includes Rene Kalmer, Irvette van Zyl, Namibia’s Helalia Johannes and Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare.
On a crisp morning made for fast times, Glenrose toed the line looking refreshed, having chosen to sidestep Wednesday’s Absa RUN YOUR CITY Joburg 10K. When the gun fired, she immediately leaned into the race like a runner unwilling to wait for destiny.
Her usual rival Selam Gebre tried to shadow her stride for stride, joined by Abaraya, and for a while the trio ran in formation, as though the podium had already been sketched in pencil.
But Gebre, her legs heavy from a fourth-place finish at the Buenos Aires Marathon earlier this month, faltered once Glenrose pressed the accelerator.
Resplendent in her trademark white cap, Glenrose’s surge was as decisive as it was devastating down the home straight.
The contest for gold was over; the race had become a chase for silver. Kavanagh, digging into her reserves with the grit of a runner who refused to fade, clawed her way past Abaraya to snatch second.
For Glenrose, the victory was all the sweeter because she had not felt at her sharpest.
“I was not 100 percent. My body was not responding well,” she admitted afterwards.
“The course was very fast. Last year I ran a course record. Today I did 31 high because my body was not responding well. I tried my best to push my pace, but I could not push much.
“But I told myself, ‘Let me keep the pace’ and then in the last three kilometres I said, ‘let me give myself a push’.”
And push she did, storming home to the delight of the Gqeberha crowd and swelling her bank balance with a R200 000 payday for clinching the overall Grand Prix prize.
The race itself was a sell-out, with 5 000 runners filling the streets in a celebration of women’s running.
For one lucky participant, it was about more than medals and times: Nomandla Lunguza of Kariega, Uitenhage walked away with a Hyundai EXTER, the fifth vehicle SPAR and Hyundai have given away this season.
“At Hyundai Automotive South Africa, we believe excellence comes in many forms. Whether you are leading the race or simply showing and giving it your all. That is why we are proud to be part of the SPAR Women’s Challenge, where every woman out there is a winner in her own right,” said Stanley Anderson, CEO of Hyundai Automotive South Africa.
“Accordingly, the SPAR Women’s Challenge alignment with the Hyundai EXTER is aimed at highlighting this vehicle’s strength. It is built to handle life’s daily demands with ease and flair. Just like the event itself, the Hyundai EXTER is as versatile and vibrant as the women who inspire us every day.”
For Glenrose Xaba, though, the car on Saturday was running on her own high-octane, Supercharged engine.
And with one more race to go, she has already driven her way into history.
Hyundai Exter winner, Nomandla Lunguza, with Clinton Bezuidenhout, Dealer Principal at Hyundai Gqeberha. Photo: Michael Sheehan / Gallo Images
The final leg of the SPAR Grand Prix will take place on Sunday morning, 05 October 2025 at Marks Park Sporting Club in Emmerentia, Johannesburg.
Akani Simbine, Tatjana Smith and Wayde van Niekerk were all among the 39 athletes who officially had their tickets to Paris confirmed for later this year when the first Olympic team announcement was made by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Teams were announced across seven sporting codes, with two more official announcements to come in the next two months.
The athletics team is far from complete with the qualification period still open and those athletes booking their tickets via world rankings yet to be finally determined.
Among those at the team announcement on Wednesday was young 400m star Lythe Pillay, who has just returned from helping the South Africa 4x400m quartet to a silver medal at the recent World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas.
“It’s really exciting. It’s still a bit surreal,” he said of making the Olympic team. “I’m really process orientated. I’m always just fixated on training and doing what I have to do. I very seldom take time to sit back and really acknowledge what has just happened and what I’ve achieved… it’s given me more of a sense of motivation to progress and keep pushing.”
Also thrilled to have booked her trip to Paris was Cian Oldknow who is one of three women, along with Gerda Steyn and Irvette van Zyl, to have qualified in the marathon.
“Until it’s official, it’s always a bit like – ooh, are we actually going? So I think now it’s starting to sink in that I really made the team,” she said. “I’m very excited… I can’t wait for what’s coming. I’m so excited to be on the start line with all my role models.”
Meanwhile, heading the swimming team is Tokyo gold and silver medallist Tatjana Smith who will be looking to defend her 200m breaststroke title in the French capital.
“It’s definitely nice to know it’s official,” she said after the announcement. “This is my second time going but it doesn’t make it any less exciting than the first time so I’m very excited.
“I’m feeling very motivated because you know you’re so close to the end – as in Paris, the thing that you’ve been working towards for so long. That definitely keeps you encouraged because you know there’s only about nine weeks left so that helps a lot.”
Others in the swimming team include the likes of SA’s most successful Olympian Chad le Clos, world championship medallist Pieter Coetzé and Commonwealth Games medallists Erin Gallagher and Kaylene Corbett.
The other sporting codes to have their teams announced were canoeing, climbing, gymnastics, surfing and wrestling.
Meanwhile, SASCOC announced the cash incentives that are up for grabs to South Africans who win medals in Paris. R400,000 will be awarded to gold medallists with R100,000 going to their coaches, R200 000 for silver medallists (with R50k for coaches) and R75 000 for bronze medals (R25k for coaches).
SA Olympic team so far:
AQUATICS
Men: Pieter Coetzé (100m, 200m backstroke), Chad le Clos (100m butterfly), Matthew Sates (100m, 200m butterfly and 200m IM)
Women: Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100m butterfly), Rebecca Meder (200m IM), Tatjana Smith (100m, 200m breaststroke), Julia Vincent (diving, 3m springboard)
ATHLETICS
Men: Luxolo Adams (200m), Stephen Mokoka (marathon), Zakhiti Nene (400m), Lythe Pillay (400m), Benjamin Richardson (200m), Akani Simbine (100m), Tshepo Tshite (1500m), Wayde van Niekerk (400m), Jovan van Vuuren (long jump), Adriaan Wildschutt (5000m, 10000m).
With the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games now five months away, 11 South African athletes have already achieved qualification standards for the global showpiece.
The most recent name to be added to that list was Cian Oldknow who ran the second-fastest marathon time by a South African woman of 2 hours 25 minutes and 08 seconds in Seville last weekend.
“I’m still feeling so excited and over the moon about running the qualifying time,” said the 27-year-old. “It was what we had set out to do in Seville. So to have actually done it is both a relief and an amazing feeling of gratitude and joy.”
Also among the qualifiers in the marathon are SA record holder Gerda Steyn who ran a 2:24:03 in December last year and Irvette van Zyl who ran 2:26:11 in Valencia in December 2022, while among the men, only Stephen Makoka has achieved the mark, running 2:06:42 in Osaka last February.
The timeline for achieving qualifying marks in track and field, apart from the 10,000m and combined events, began on 1 July 2023, with the final deadline for qualification coming up on 30 June 2024, while on the road, marathon runners had between 6 November 2022 and 5 May 2024 to qualify.
Among the first to achieve their qualification mark on the track was two-time Olympic 100m finalist Akani Simbine whose time of 9.97 seconds run on 16 July last year in Poland all but booked his ticket to Paris.
“I qualified for Olympics last year already and having that weight off my shoulders makes it easier for us to plan our season gearing up to the Olympics,” he explained. “I don’t need to stress about racing and getting my Q for the Games.”
Other track athletes who have ‘the Q’ are Luxolo Adams in the 200m, world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk and Zakithi Nene (400m), Tshepo Tshite (1500m0, Adriaan Wildschutt (5000m) and Marioné Fourie (100m hurdles).
Qualification for Paris is not only attained by achieving entry standards, however – with an additional 50 per cent of qualifiers being decided via world rankings. Taking that into account, 10 more athletes (along with the men’s 4x100m relay team) could be added to the list eligible for selection if they maintain their current rankings by the cutoff date of 7 July for track and field and 12 May for the marathon.
With several months still to achieve both entry standards and work their way up the world rankings, even more could be added, with a limit of three per country per event.
Speaking about the composition of the team, Simbine reckoned: “Team SA is going through a transition. There are younger athletes that are coming into the sport and I’m hoping they take the opportunity with both hands and come into the space with maturity and hunger to commit and do great things.”
“I’m looking forward to the guys qualifying and believing that they can compete against the world.”
After missing half the year due to injury and struggling with motivation, Irvette van Zyl hit the ground running in the latter half of 2023, seemingly going from strength to strength as she found her racing form again, culminating in a number of high profile 10km wins and then her fourth win at the African Bank Soweto Marathon. Unsurprisingly, she now has her sights set on doing even better in 2024, including some unfinished business with a few big races. – By Manfred Seidler
South Africa’s last shot at a medal on the track at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest went up in smoke as the men’s 4x100m relay team failed to complete their race in the showpiece final on Saturday night. There was a distinct sense of déjà vu, as a similar dropped baton scenario as the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 played out on the back stretch of the track.
This time it was the second changeover between Benjamin Richardson and Clarence Munyai that proved to be the problem, as Akani Simbine stood waiting on the home straight for the baton that never arrived. Explaining what happened, Munyai said: “It’s not nice obviously because we did quite well yesterday [in the heats], and coming into today, we were looking forward to competing.”
“Obviously, it’s my mistake, because I’m the senior guy and the change wasn’t good – he missed my hand, as my hand was moving. I was looking forward, so I didn’t see at the back, but I take the blame, it’s one of those things where it happens in sport, but you just have to bounce back and hopefully the next one we can put it together.”
Both the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay titles were won by the USA, with Noah Lyles anchoring the US men home and claiming a third gold medal to go with his winning efforts in the 100m and 200m finals. In the women’s team, Sha’Carrie Richardson added a second gold to her haul, having won the 100m and finished third in the 200m.
Earlier in the day, Irvette van Zyl “survived” the blisteringly hot conditions to finish the marathon in her first World Championship appearance. She crossed the line in 2:38:32, thus securing 45th place out of 77 starters. Having failed to finish two Olympic marathons and not even making the start of the third that she was supposed to compete in because of injury, just reaching the finish in Budapest was Van Zyl’s main mission on Saturday.
“It was just proving to myself today that I can,” she said after the race, which was won by Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso in 2:24:23. “I knew I wasn’t in the shape I wanted to be, but I just wanted to show to myself if I pitch up injury-free, I can cross the finish line. It was a bit of torture on the route, but I really enjoyed it. It’s a beautiful route, and overall I’m really pleased… I don’t think I had a plan today apart from survive and finish.”
Ischke Senekal’s best second-round throw of 16.20m in qualification was not enough to see her through to the women’s shot put final after finishing 32nd overall.
Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the day’s action was Mondo Duplantis winning the men’s pole vault, retaining the World Champs title he won in 2022 in the USA. He is thus still the reigning Olympic, World and World Indoor Champion. Having won the competition on the night in Budapest with a winning height of 6.10m, he asked the officials to push the bar up to 6.23m, so that he could try to improve his own World Record. His next three jumps saw him come very close to rewriting the record books yet again, but for now his World Outdoor Record of 6:21m and his World Indoor Record of 6.22m remain the highest marks jumped to date.
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ASICS is proud to announce the signing of Irvette van Zyl. Van Zyl is a long-distance runner with multiple South African titles and is the current women’s 50km ultramarathon world record holder. The Pretoria-based runner strengthens ASICS South Africa’s road-running athlete portfolio into 2022 and beyond.
“It is very special for me having a brand like ASICS – that has over 73 years of high-performance brand heritage – believing in me backing my dreams and goals,” said Irvette.
According to Irvette, aside from the performance aspect of the brand, she is a big believer in the importance of sport for mental wellbeing. “So ASICS’s ‘sound mind, sound body’ philosophy really resonates with me. When I go for a run in my ASICS, my mind and body are in sync, and it just sets the tone for my day,” she said.
Irvette made her marathon debut at the 2012 London Marathon, after which she turned her attention to shorter races on SA soil. Not long after, she began focusing on marathons and ultramarathons. She ran her best time of 2:28:40 at the 2021 Xiamen Tuscany Camp Elite Marathon in Siena, Italy. In May 2021, she broke the world record for the women’s 50km in a time of 3:04:23, bettering the previous record by almost three minutes.
Irvette races in the METASPEED™ Sky, a shoe developed at the ASICS Institute of Sport Science in Kobe, Japan, after utilizing the data accumulated from its athletes over the past year. Stride-style runners such as Irvetter take a longer stride once they increase their speed, but their cadence primarily remains consistent. Thanks to an energetic midsole foam and a propulsive carbon plate, Irvette will be able to conserve more energy while maintaining her pace at the later stages of the race.
“The METASPEED™ Sky is an amazingly speedy shoe to race and train in,” she said, explaining how her focus for the rest of the 2022 season is on bettering her 10K and half-marathon times, distances in which she has won SA national titles in the past. “Then, towards the end of the year, I will be looking to do a quick marathon, so hopefully, all the speed work on the shorter distances will go a long way to increase my speed,” she concluded.
Modern Athlete will be meeting with Irvette next week to discuss the move to ASICS and what this means for her career going forward. To be the first to hear all the news make sure to follow us on Facebook.
The oldest race in the SPAR Women’s Challenge series, the Durban race, turns 30 this year, and the organisers predict a fast and exciting race as part of the celebrations on Sunday 23 June.
The Durban Challenge takes place two weeks after South Africa’s most famous race, the Comrades Marathon, and many of the women who did well in the Comrades Marathon cut their road-running teeth on SPAR Challenge races. Gold medallists Jenna Challenor and Charne Bosman are both former SPAR Challenge winners, while Comrades winner Gerda Steyn finished second in the Joburg race last year, after entering as part of her training for marathons.
There will once again be a very strong field for Sunday’s race at King’s Park. Namibian Helalia Johannes (Nedbank), who already won the Port Elizabeth and Cape Town races this year, both in record time, will be attempting to make it three in a row. Meanwhile, the talented Ethiopian junior Tadu Nare (Nedbank), who finished second in Port Elizabeth and third in Cape Town, will also be running on Sunday.
Among the top South Africans competing are 2017 Grand Prix winner Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts) and three-times Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank). Last year’s podium finishers, Betha Chikanga (Maxed Elite), Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) and Nolene Conrad (Murray & Roberts) are also expected to compete on Sunday.
The elite runners are expected to put up fast times. In Cape Town, the first 11 were all under the 2018 winning time, while the first seven in Port Elizabeth beat the previous year’s winning time. This trend is expected to continue in Durban.
“Durban is traditionally the fastest race of the series,” said SPAR Grand Prix coordinator Ian Laxton. “It depends on the weather, of course, but I expect a lot of runners to earn bonus points for finishing in less than last year’s winning time.” Laxton adds that he also expects top South African runners such as Molotsane and Van Zyl to make a strong push to get on the podium.
