Phalula sisters dominate 2015 Spar Grand Prix
The main dominators in the 2015 SPAR Grand Prix series came from the Phalula family.
LEBOGANG Phalula, the overall winner of the 2015 SPAR Grand Prix series, received her cash prize on Tuesday, November 10.
Lebogang has had a spectacular year on the road, notching up victory after victory. She was the star performer in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge Series, winning in Durban and Johannesburg, and finishing in the top three in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. She accumulated an impressive total of 95 points to ensure that she walked away with the R150 000 prize.
Her twin sister, Diana-Lebo, who won the Grand Prix title in 2014, finished in second position with 75 points and received R50 000.
Another previous Grand Prix winner, Mapaseka Makhanya, and Nolene Conrad finished joint third, with 67 points each, and both received R27 500. Cornelia Joubert finished fourth with 65 points. Three times Grand Prix winner Rene Kalmer was sixth with 58 points and her sister, Christine, was seventh with 53 points.
“I have had to work hard to get back to the top after being suspended for using a banned substance,” Lebogang said.
“I wanted to prove that I could do it and that I wasn’t a cheat. Winning the Grand Prix means so much to me. My sister won it last year and I decided this year was going to be my year.”
Diana-Lebo missed the Cape Town race because she was doing national duty at the world cross-country championships in China.
The twins will focus on trying to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year. Lebogang will be aiming for the 1 500 and 5 000m events, while Diana-Lebo is still trying to decide whether she wants to stay on the track or aim for the marathon.
