Winner takes it all at SPAR Joburg Women’s Challenge

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 Wanderers in Joburg on Sunday, October 9.

Despite not running in the fourth race of the challenge series, in Pretoria on September 3, two-time 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 (third), Durban (third) and Pretoria (second), 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,” she said.

“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 heartbreaking having to pull out. I deserved to be in the marathon team, and I had high hopes of a good finish,” said van Zyl.

“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.”

Online entries are open for the SPAR Joburg Challenge at www.entrytime.com or entry forms can be collected at local SPAR stores. The Joburg Challenge is open to all women and there will be a 5km fun run and the 10km challenge. With most of South Africa’s top athletes expected to run in Joburg it’s the ideal opportunity to rub shoulders with Olympians.