No victories, but Xaba sits on top
CONSISTENT: THREE SECOND PLACES DOES THE TRICK
Zimbabwe’s Betha Chikanga destroys field in 10km race.
New leader Glenrose Xaba insists she is not getting ahead of herself after climbing to the top of the standings in the Spar Women’s Grand Prix 10km series.
Though she remained without a win in the annual campaign, Xaba earned her third straight runner-up spot yesterday, and she was rewarded for her consistency by grabbing the overall lead from in-form athlete Kesa Molotsane.
“I’m very excited to be leading the Grand Prix but I can’t say I can win it yet,” said Xaba, who was reluctant to make any predictions with three legs left in the campaign.
Up front, leading from gun to tape, Zimbabwean athlete Betha Chikanga stunned the elite field by charging to a runaway victory at King’s Park Stadium.
Competing in warm, windy conditions, Chikanga laid down the hammer from the start and opened a gap of more than 200 metres by the halfway mark.
While her opponents began to chase her down in the latter stages of the race, the 21-year-old athlete held them off to win in 33:07.
“I knew I was fit, so I decided to start fast and finish fast,” said Chikanga, who stepped on the podium for the first time in a Spar Grand Prix race.
Xaba was second across the line in 33:27 and Nolene Conrad finished third in 33:43.
Molotsane, who won the opening two races of the 2018 campaign in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, slipped to second place overall in the Grand Prix series after settling for sixth position in 34:15.
Conrad, who worked hard alongside Xaba at the front of a large chase group, admitted Chikanga had surprised the rest of the field with her tactical approach.
“I thought we were going to catch her in the second half of the race but she ran excellently,” Conrad said.
“She went out bravely and kept it there.”