JOHANNESBURG – The amazing performances of Namibian Helalia Johannes (Nedbank) in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge, winning all five races in record time, has put her in a strong position to claim the SPAR Grand Prix title after the Johannesburg race in October.
Johannes has 150 points and is 16 points ahead of her closest rival and Nedbank teammate, Ethiopian junior Tadu Nare, who has 134 points.
Johannes said after winning the race in Tshwane that she would be focusing her attention and training on the World Marathon Championships in Doha, Qatar, on September 27 and would only decide then whether to run in Johannesburg.
However, if she misses the Johannesburg race on October 5, Nare could snatch the title away from her, if she wins the race in a record time.
The 2017 Grand Prix winner, Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts), is in third position with 107 points. She has finished third, sixth, seventh, eighth and fourth in the five races so far, earning bonus points in three races.
Triple Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) is five points behind her, with 102 points. Van Zyl has finished fifth, seventh, third and seventh, earning bonus points in each race. Van Zyl missed the Tshwane race because she was still recovering from surgery to repair nerve damage in her left leg.
Last year’s Grand Prix winner, Glenrose Xaba (Boxer), who was plagued by injury earlier in the year, appears to be fully fit now. She is in seventh position on the log, with 82 points.
At the SPAR Women’s Challenge recently in Tshwane, South Africa, Namibian top-athlete Helalia Johannes won in a record time of 32.29 minutes. Over 40,000 participants took part in the 10km Challenge and the 5km Fun Run. #SPAR #sportsponsoring @my_spar https://t.co/evMeDkgZPf pic.twitter.com/rk5lqXxzqg
— SPAR International (@SPARInt) August 12, 2019
The winner of the SPAR Grand Prix will take home R185 000. The runner-up pockets R65 000 and the third-placed runner will receive R40 000. The top 15 on the SPAR Grand Prix ladder all receive cash prizes.
The coordinator of the SPAR Grand Prix, Ian Laxton, says the introduction of foreign runners has raised the standard of running in South Africa.
“Runners like Johannes and Nade are forcing our local runners to run faster,” said Laxton. “The competition for points is fierce and it is now very difficult for a runner to miss a race.”