Glenrose Xaba struggled to find the correct words to describe the role played by her coaches, Caster and Violet Semenya, in her tremendously successful season.
The Athletics Gauteng North athlete walked away with almost half a million in prize money and keys to a brand new car for winning the SPAR Women’s Challenge series at the SPAR Grand Prix awards at Emperors Palace on November 5.
The soft-spoken diminutive athlete credited the Semenyas for playing a crucial role in her comeback following three years of injuries.
“I don’t have the words. They are my pillars of strength. Their influence is bigger than what I thought. I want to thank them for being there for me in good and bad times.
“I battled with injuries in the past three years. I almost gave up on myself but Caster and Violet encouraged me to stay put because running is my talent and I needed to show the youngsters what they can achieve if they believe in themselves,” she said.
Xaba broke the stranglehold of East African women, who dominated the race from 2019 when foreigners could start participating in the event to become the first South African to win the series since 2018. She won five of the six 10km races.
On top of that, she broke Elana Meyer’s 23-year-old women’s 10km record at Absa Run Your City Durban when she clocked 31:12, shaving a second off of Meyer’s 31:13 set in 2001.
She also shattered the national women’s 42.2km record at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon last month, when she stopped the clock at 02:22:22, which was 01:19 faster than Gerda Steyn’s previous mark.
She received a cheque of R487 000, which includes R200 000 for winning the series, R207 000 for winning five of the six races (including her runner-up spot in Durban) and an additional R75 000 for finishing the series as the first-placed South African. Furthermore, she received keys to a brand new Proton SUV X50 which she will drive for a year.
“I want to thank my club, Boxer and SPAR, for motivating us to do well and helping us financially. SPAR is helping us with this series because now we can break records.
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“It is where I started my career. It means a lot to be the first black woman to win the series twice. It shows that my coaches and I are working hard,” Xaba said.
While the 29-year-old began the season aiming to do well in the SPAR Grand Prix, she had her sights on qualifying for the Olympics but, God had other plans.
“God gave me more than I expected. He gave me two national records. I cannot ask for more. I am blessed. I planned to qualify for the Olympics but God said no and gave me the two records and the SPAR Grand Prix.”
She thanked her friends, family, and teammates for their constant support. SPAR’s national PR, communications and sponsorship manager, Mpudi Maubane, congratulated the category winners and announced that the retailer will continue sponsoring the series next year.
“In January, we will announce exciting developments to the series,” Maubane said.
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