Latest news with #GlenroseXaba
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Xaba smashes course record, Mosiako reclaims title at national half-marathon championships
Glenrose Xaba broke the course record to win the national half-marathon title at the ASA Road Running Championships in Phalaborwa. Image: Athletics South Africa Glenrose Xaba broke the course record to win the national half-marathon title at the ASA Road Running Championships in the Limpopo heat on Saturday, extending her dominance in the race. Thabang Mosiako also delivered a stunning performance to win the men's title in the event in Namakgale, Phalaborwa, which was incorporated into the annual Foskor Half-Marathon. Xaba earned her sixth national title over the 21km distance in the colours of Athletics Gauteng North (AGN). She completed the race in 1:10:03, breaking former world record holder Elana Meyer's course record and finishing more than three minutes clear of Lesotho's Neheng Khatala, who was second in the open race in a time of 1:13:28. Cacisile Sosibo grabbed the silver medal in the national championship contest in 1:15:14, and Samantha Coetzer secured bronze in 1:22:52. 'This race is always run under hot conditions (in Phalaborwa), but it was warm today, but the conditions were not as bad as they can get here,' Xaba said. 'It motivated me to break Elana Meyer's record because I was inspired by her achievements, and I wished one day I could break her records.' Mosiako was also superb, coasting to a comfortable victory in the men's 21km race. He stopped the clock at 1:02:47 to reclaim the SA title he won in 2023, leading an Athletics Central North West (ACNW) sweep of the podium. Mosiako finished well clear of the rest of the field, with Thomas Lebese of Lesotho taking second place in the open race in a time of 1:04:00. Reghan Magwai was third overall in 1:04:16, taking the runner-up spot in the national championships, while ultra-distance specialist Onalenna Khonkhobe earned the bronze medal after clocking 1:04:17. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Thabang Mosiako delivered a stunning performance to win the men's national half-marathon title at the ASA Road Running Championships in Namakgale, Phalaborwa, on Saturday. Image: Athletics South Africa 'After I won in 2023, a rough patch followed me. So, I'm happy with my comeback and I can see the way forward. I think after today I will have that confidence again,' said Mosiako. 'The conditions were not bad because I've been training in Potchefstroom where it's quite hot, so I came here ready for this race.' In other events at the ASA Road Running Championships, Kabelo Mulaudzi won gold for Central Gauteng Athletics in the men's five-kilometre race in 14:00. Musawenkosi Mnisi (AGN) took second place in 14:09, and Jerry Motsau (ACNW) was third in 14:17. In the women's five-kilometre battle, Karabo More (AGN) triumphed in 16:37, with Zanthe Taljaard securing the silver medal for Athletics Vaal Triangle (AVT) in 16:56, and Busisiwe Chamane taking bronze in 17:19 in the colours of KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA). Over the mile (1.609km) distance, Boikanyo Motlhamme (CGA) charged to victory in 4:02, and Tshegofatso Pilane (AGN) earned silver in 4:03. Ryan Mphahlele (CGA), who also clocked 4:03, finished third. Carmie Prinsloo (AGN) won the women's mile in 4:41, with Ntsoaki Molahloe (KZNA) taking second position in 4:46, and Andrea Steynberg (ACNW) hanging on for bronze in 4:50.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Glenrose Xaba gunning for whopping sixth national half-marathon title in a row
Glenrose Xaba finished fifth at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on July 13 in a time of 31:50. Glenrose Xaba will chase her sixth national half-marathon title in a row for Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) as part of a star-studded field at the ASA Road Running Championships in Namakgale, Phalaborwa, on Saturday. Men's defending champion Elroy Gelant will also be among the pre-race favourites in the half-marathon that is incorporated into the F21 Half-Marathon. Xaba was the first South African home over the 21.1km distance at last year's national championships in Gqeberha, finishing fourth overall in 1:13:42. Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) athlete Cacisile Sosibo was fifth, in a time of 1:13:51. She is likely to once again be Xaba's strongest challenger. Gelant, who overcame tough conditions to win the SA men's title in Gqeberha last year, will be joined in the line-up by Athletics Central North West (ACNW) teammate Thabang Mosiako, also a former national champion. They are up against a field that also includes in-form athlete Bennet Seloyi, representing Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA). Xaba holds the national marathon and 10km records on the road, as well as the 5 000m and 10 000m records on the track. The multi-talented star is also eyeing ranking points in her bid to qualify for the track 5 000m and 10 000m at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. The ASA Road Running Championships will also be key to national marathon record holder Gelant's build-up to the world champs. He has made clear his ambition to grab a podium finish at the Tokyo showpiece, after finishing in eleventh place in the marathon at the Paris Olympics.
IOL News
13-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Glenrose Xaba falls short of national record after finishing fifth at Absa Durban 10K
Glenrose Xaba finished fifth at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday morning in a time of 31:50. Photo: Kevin Sawyer Image: Kevin Sawyer Glenrose Xaba was unable to reach her target of breaking the national 10km record at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday morning, yet still managed to dip below 32 minutes as the first South African home in the elite women's race. The in-form Boxer Athletics Club star finished fifth, behind a quartet of Kenyan runners, in a time of 31:50. The women's race was won by Claire Ndiwa in 30:50, with Janet Mulungi second (30:53) after a thrilling sprint finish. Early frontrunner Jesca Chelangat was dropped in the final kilometre and had to settle for third (30:58), while Rebecca Mwangi came home fourth (31:13). Clare Ndiwa of Kenya crosses the finish line first at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday morning. Image: Anthony Grote Much of the pre-race hype focused on Xaba's attempt to better her national record of 31:12, set at last year's event. However, she blamed changes to the course layout for her inability to do so. 'The pace was okay at the beginning, or first kilometre, but when we reached 6km the course changed too much. There were lots more hills than last year,' she said at the finish on the promenade at Sunkist Beach. 'Last year's course was fast, but this year it was very challenging because there are many climbs. Three climbs take a lot off the speed – four climbs, actually. It's not that course we were expecting from last year. They said it's fast, but it's a bit tough.' Still, the time was an impressive one from South Africa's current 10km queen, who dipped under 32 minutes for the third time this year. It also marked a notable improvement on the 31:54 she clocked at the SPAR Women's 10km Challenge in Durban on 22 June. Absa Durban 10K elite women's race winner Clare Ndiwa (centre) is flanked on the left by third-place finisher Jesca Chelangat, and runner-up Janet Mutungi on her right. Image: Action Photo Asked what it would take to get closer to her record, Xaba said: 'A course that is flat from start to finish, with no climbs. If the course was like last year, all of us were going to run very good times, but I think we slowed down.' The multi-talented 30-year-old was also chasing ranking points in her bid to qualify for the track 5 000m and 10 000m events at the World Championships in Tokyo in September. 'I think this race won't be good for my ranking,' she admitted. 'It was very tough for me. My legs were not responding well in the last 3km. If my legs were responding well, I think I would have run faster.' Xaba refused to blame fatigue from a busy race schedule. 'I don't feel that tired. I'm basing my training more on mileage than speed. My legs just couldn't cope when it came to the hills. I think the hills affected me. I'm used to running flat,' she said. She is now hoping to secure more 5 000m races to improve her strong ranking in that event, as she feels better placed to qualify for the World Championships in the shorter distance than in the 10 000m.
IOL News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Glenrose Xaba aiming for a record-breaking performance at Absa Run Your City Durban 10K
Distance runner Glenrose Xaba is hoping to continue her fine recent form at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday. Glenrose Xaba will be hoping to continue her remarkable form over 10km so far this year when the distance runner lines up for the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday. The notoriously fast, flat route offers the potential for the star of the track and road to dip under 32 minutes for the third time this year. Xaba will be aiming for her fastest time of the season, and is confident of beating her national 10km record. The Boxer Athletics Club runner stormed home in a time of 31:12 at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K last year to take overall fourth place and better Elana Meyer's 23-year-old national mark. 'Yes. That's the plan,' was her response to questions about the possibility of setting a new SA record. 'I want to write my own history.' Xaba's performance in the recent SPAR Women's 10km Challenge in Durban will only add to her belief that she can once again raise the bar. She crossed the finish line in a time of 31:54 despite breezy conditions in Durban on June 22. She made light work of the challenge of the Ethiopian duo of Diniya Abaraya and Selam Gebre on that occasion. 'Consistency, determination and discipline are key,' Xaba explained when asked how she keeps on churning out world-class times despite a busy season. 'The body is feeling okay since I prepared it from the beginning of the season because I knew that it would have a lot of races.'
The Herald
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Leading SA athletes set sights on Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon
A strong contingent of SA's leading professional road runners is set to compete in the 11th edition of the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon at Pollok Beach on Saturday (7am). The 21.1km road race has also attracted some leading runners from the rest of the continent. Glenrose Xaba, who won the Durban SPAR Grand Prix 10km race at the weekend, is back and will be looking for a podium finish on Saturday. In 2024, the 30-year-old Boxer Athletics Club runner was only two seconds shy of finishing in the top three and settled for fourth place after crossing the finish line in one hour, 13 minutes and 40 seconds. Ethiopians Diniya Kedir Abaraya and Selam Fente Gebre, who finished second and third in the 10km in Durban, will be in the starting line-up for the women's race on Saturday. In the 2024 women's race, Ethiopia's Tadu Nare dominated as she led from the gun to win in 1:12:01, ahead of compatriot Abaraya (1:12:31), who finished as the first junior. Lesotho's Blandina Makatisi was third in 1:13:39, while Xaba, in fourth overall (1:13:42), finished as the first South African. This time round, the 19-year-old Nedbank Running Club athlete will look to be the first female to cross the finish line. SA's Cacisolle Sosibo, who finished in fifth place in the women's race in 2024, has also confirmed her participation. Hollywood Athletics Club will bring a competitive group of athletes to the event, including Olympians Stephen Mokoka and Neheng Khatala, and talented 23-year-old Tayla Kavanagh. Mokoka, who has made four Olympic appearances and holds the 50km ultra-marathon world record and three Cape Town Marathon titles, is among those who will be chasing the title this weekend. The 40-year-old last won the NMB Half Marathon in 2019. In 2020, he was beaten by compatriot Precious Mashele, who made way for Lesotho's Namakoe Nkhasi in 2021. In 2023, Gqeberha runner Thabang Mosiako crossed the finish line first to make sure the title remained in the Bay. In 2024, three-time Olympian Elroy Gelant, 37, who won the first edition of the NMB Half-Marathon in 2014, crossed the finish line in one hour, three minutes and 54 seconds for his second title. The 2022 champion, Namakoe Nkhasi, took second place in 1:04:04, and Mashele was third in 1:04:05 for Central Gauteng Athletics. Other top runners such as 2022 NMB Half Marathon winner Melikhaya Frans of Gqeberha, brothers Daniel and Simon Paulus (Namibia), and South Africans Puseletso Mofokeng and Dino Nako will be among the entries in a powerful men's line-up. Kenya's Rodgers Kipchirchir Murei and Saibi Chebet of Uganda confirmed their participation in May. The 11th edition of the popular race will see the addition of a 5km distance, with the aim of attracting more development athletes. Race organisers have exceeded their target of 2,000 entries. The race starts in Marine Drive at Pollok Beach and includes a loop through Nelson Mandela University. The cut-off time is three hours and 30 minutes. The Herald
