THE WITHDRAWAL of Glenrose Xaba in the second leg of the Spar Women’s Challenge 10km, has opened the way for her rival, Tayla Kavanagh, to become the favorite to win the race.
The second leg of the Spar Women’s Challenge will be run in Durban, on Sunday morning.
In the first leg in Cape Town in April, Tayla, who runs for Hollywood Athletics Club, left her rival, Glenrose Xaba, winning in March with a time of 31:33. Glenrose finished second with a time of 31:38.
Glenrose (31), who is the defending champion of the race, has decided to withdraw from running the second leg in Durban after accepting an invitation to run in Europe at the beginning of July.
This runner who runs for the Boxer Running Club, trained by Caster Semenya, last year became the fourth runner to win the Spar Grand Prix three times. She crossed the line in 31:57, beaten by her rival, Tayla, in 32:01 at the Spar Gqeberha, in September.
Tayla’s (25) girdle to Glenrose last year this is exactly what makes her one of the most watched runners in the Spar Women’s Challenge with three legs remaining, which are in Mbombela on July 18, Pretoria on August 1, and the fifth final on October 4 in Johannesburg.
“The Spar Women’s Challenge is more than just a race. But it is a platform that unites sport and society with the aim of developing female runners in South Africa,”
“I am very determined to continue the form I started with in the first leg, without putting pressure on myself,” Tayla said, being quoted do-modernathlete.co.za.
Apart from Tayla, other runners who are being watched include Karabo More, Karabo Mailula, and Cacisile Sosibo.
Boxer’s More finished fourth in the first leg of the Spar Women’s Challenge in Cape Town in April, with a time of 33:34, behind Kyla Jacobs who finished third in 32:16.