Helalia Johannes’s inability to change her flights from the United Kingdom to allow her to run in the SPAR Grand Prix Women’s 10km race in Tshwane last Saturday has cost her dearly – the 2019 SPAR Grand Prix winner has dropped to fourth place in the latest SPAR Grand Prix standings.

Defending champion Tadu Nare from the Nedbank club is well positioned to repeat her success of last year. The Ethiopian heads the table with 119 points from the first four races. Nare was beaten by Johannes in the first race in Gqeberha, but won in Durban, Mbombela and Tshwane, with maximum bonus points in each race.

Her teammate and compatriot, teenager Selam Gebre (Nedbank), is in second position with 113 points. Gebre finished third in the first three races, but came second in Tshwane. She also had maximum bonus points in each race. The teenager also heads the junior category, with a total of 20 points.

2017 SPAR Grand Prix winner, Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts) has moved up into third position on the log with 91 points.  Molotsane is proof of the importance of consistency in the SPAR Grand Prix.  She finished eighth in Gqeberha, but fifth in the other three races.

ohannes is three points behind her, with 88 points. She won in Gqeberha and was second in Durban and Mbombela.  Johannes initially said she would miss the race in Tshwane because she was defending her Commonwealth Games marathon title.

She was a surprise late entry for the Tshwane race, but was unable to change her flights so she could arrive in South Africa in time to prepare for the race. Johannes has also dropped places in the over 40 category, where she is four points behind Janie Grundling of Murray & Roberts, who has 34 points.  However, she still has time to overtake Grundling in the final two races.

Three-times champion Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) has bounced back from eighth place after Mbombela to fifth, after her stunning third place in Tshwane. Van Zyl was seventh in Gqeberha and fourth in Durban, but missed Mbombela because of injury. She ran a brilliant race in Tshwane, nipping past 2018 SPAR Grand Prix winner Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) with 400 metres to go. She has 79 points, with maximum bonus points. Xaba missed the first two races and is currently in ninth position on the log, with 54 points.

Murray & Roberts head the club competition, with 537 points from 26 scorers. Nedbank are in second position, with 491 points from 13 scorers, followed by Boxer with 313 from 13 scorers.

The next SPAR Grand Prix 10km race is in Joburg on October 2 and the final race is in Cape Town on October 23.

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