Race for Spar Grand Prix title goes down to the wire
The final race in the 2016 SPAR Grand Prix in Johannesburg on Sunday will produce a lot of tension and excitement.
The race for the 2016 SPAR Grand Prix is heading for an exciting finish, with everything dependent on the outcome of the last SPAR Women’s Challenge race at the Wanderers Sporting Club in Joburg on Sunday, October 9.
Despite not running in the fourth race of the Challenge series, in Pretoria on September 3, two times winner Irvette van Zyl of Nedbank still has a narrow lead of six points. Van Zyl won the first three SPAR Challenge races, in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban, and received 10 bonus points for breaking the record in Durban in June, for a total of 70 points. A stress fracture in her left foot forced Van Zyl to withdraw from the Pretoria race.
Close on Van Zyl’s heels is last year’s Grand Prix winner, Lebogang Phalula (Boxer), who has 64 points, after finishing third, second, 11th and fourth. Christine Kalmer (KPMG), who finished fifth, eighth, sixth and seventh in the four Challenge races, is in third position on 58 points, proving that consistency is invaluable in accumulating Grand Prix points.
Phalula’s twin sister, Diana-Lebo, is just three points behind Kalmer, with 55 points. Diana-Lebo had podium finishes in Port Elizabeth (3rd), Durban (3rd) and Pretoria (2nd), but missed the Cape Town race because she was representing South Africa in the world cross-country championships in China.
Van Zyl said at the launch of the SPAR Women’s Joburg Challenge race that she was desperate to run in Joburg to regain the Grand Prix title she won in 2010 and 2011.
“The last few months have been horrible. I got this stress fracture and I had to pull out of the marathon at the Olympic Games in Rio. In London, I couldn’t finish the marathon because of an injury, so I now have a DNF and a DNS against my name and can’t call myself an Olympian. It was heart-breaking having to pull out. I deserved to be in the marathon team, and I had high hopes of a good finish,” said Van Zyl, who was close to tears when she discussed her injury with journalists.
“So I really need to win the SPAR Grand Prix to get something out of this year. I nearly didn’t run in Durban, because I hurt my knee, but I didn’t want to pull out because I would have lost too many points. But I just couldn’t run in Pretoria – my injury was too bad,” she said.
“I am determined to run in Joburg, and to do well. Winning the SPAR Grand Prix would be something of a consolation after my Rio disappointment,” Van Zyl concluded.
The Phalula sisters let it be known that Van Zyl would have to fight for every point in Joburg, as they believe the title should once again belong to one of them.
After four races, Boxer is in first position on the club ladder, with 296 points. KPMG is lying second, with 254 points, and Nedbank is in third place with 118.
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord onFacebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
