Debutant crowned queen of the Spar Grand Prix
Top performers in the 2017 Spar Grand Prix series received their awards at a ceremony in Muldersdrift recently.
Kesa Molotsane (KPMG) entered the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge races this year to boost her training for track events and ended up winning the coveted SPAR Grand Prix title in her debut year.
Molotsane was handed a cheque for R173 000 at the SPAR Grand Prix awards ceremony at Memoire in Muldersdrift recently.
The new champion is only the seventh person to win the title, and the only one to do so in her debut year. She won the Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Pietermaritzburg races, finished second in Durban and Johannesburg and third in Pretoria to finish with 156 points – 10 ahead of her nearest rival, three-times Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank), who won in Pretoria and Johannesburg, came second in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and third in Pietermaritzburg.
The battle for top spot would have been even closer if Van Zyl had not been forced to drop out in Durban because of an injury. Molotsane gained bonus points for finishing within the target times set by the organisers in every race except Durban and Johannesburg, while Van Zyl earned bonus points in every race she finished.
Van Zyl, winner of Sunday’s Soweto Marathon, won R50 000.
Nolene Conrad (KPMG), who finished every race in the top ten, with podium finishes in Pretoria and Johannesburg, came joint third with 2013 Grand Prix winner Mapaseka Makhanya (Massmart) with 67 points each. They each received R27 500.
Molotsane said she felt humbled by winning the Grand Prix title.
“When I ran the first one, in Cape Town, I was really doing it just as a form of training for track racing. I planned to run just one or two, but then I realised I had a chance of winning the Grand Prix, so I carried on, and I will definitely be running the SPAR races again next year. Thank you to SPAR for what you have done for women’s road running in South Africa,” she concluded.
Van Zyl, who won the title in 2010, 2011 and 2016, congratulated Molotsane on her achievement.
“Kesa is a great competitor. I think she has added a new dimension to the SPAR Challenge races. She has an amazing kick, and I had my work cut out against her. But I will be back next year and I look forward to an exciting battle against Kesa. I lost the Grand Prix when I pulled up after four kilometres in Durban,” Van Zyl said after receiving het price.
Nicole Louw (KPMG) topped the leader board in the junior category, winning the four races she entered, earning a total of 35 points. Shanley Koekemoer (KPMG) was second, with 21 points, and Simonay Weitz (BOXER), who won the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth races, was third, with 20.
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