The tenacious Ethiopian star athlete, Tadu Nare, who competes in South Africa in the colours of the Nedbank Athletics Club, showed on Saturday morning in Irene, Centurion, that she will not be easily knocked off her throne as champion of the SPAR Grand Prix 10km races.

Nare had another overwhelming win in the 10km Tshwane SPAR Grand Prix at the Irene Agricultural Centre.  The defending champion stormed to victory in 32:44 minutes on a chilly Highveld morning.

The Tshwane race is the fourth in the six-race SPAR Grand Prix.

Her Ethiopian compatriot and teammate Selam Gebre, who is still officially a junior athlete, was second in 33:08 and three times SPAR Grand Prix winner Irvette van Zyl was third in 34:14.

The 2018 SPAR Grand Prix winner Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) was fourth in 34:28, followed by another former SPAR Grand Prix winner, Kesa Molotsane of Murray and Roberts in 34:52.

The race was the first since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to be run on a circular route rather than a loop. The route started off on the research farm – the only urban farm in South Africa – before taking the runners through the campus of South Downs College and the upmarket South Downs Estate and back to the research centre.

Nare and Gebre went into the lead immediately, with Xaba hot on their heels. Van Zyl and Molotsane were in a group of about eight runners until Van Zyl broke away.  Xaba dropped back at about five kilometres and Van Zyl gradually reeled her in until 400 metres before the finish when she shot past Xaba to snatch third place.

“It was a tough race, especially because of the weather. It was very cold and I was feeling numb. And I had difficulty breathing because of the cold air. I was hoping to finish in 31 minutes, so I really pushed it over the last two kilometres,” said Nare after her victory.

Gebre was delighted to have finished second. She said Nare had been very helpful in telling her when to push ahead.

“She has been a mentor to me since I started the SPAR races,” Gebre remarked.

Van Zyl, who was the first South African to take a podium spot this year, said the route suited her perfectly.

“I like hills and it also suited me that we started slowly. I have been struggling with a foot injury and a couple of bouts of flu, so I ran according to my fitness level. Because I didn’t push too hard at the start, I still had some gas in the tank at the end of the race, and I was able to overtake Glenrose.  I hadn’t expected to come third, so I am really happy,” said Van Zyl who crossed the finish line with clenched fist victory salute.

Xaba said she had wanted to challenge the Ethiopian runners and kept up with them for the first five kilometres.

“But after that I couldn’t stay with them any longer. When Irvette passed me, I couldn’t respond because of the lactic acid in my legs. But I will continue to challenge the Ethiopians until I can keep up with them all the way. The East Africans are an inspiration to us South Africans,” she commented.

A notable absentee from the race was Namibian Helalia Johannes (Nedbank), who won the first race in Gqeberha and finished second in Durban and Mbombela. The 2019 SPAR Grand Prix winner won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games Marathon a week ago, but was unable to change her flights to enable her to reach South Africa in time to take part in the Tshwane race.

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