Leballo stuns a top-quality field
ON COMEBACK TRAIL: 39-YEAR-OLD CRUISES TO WIN
Defending champ Van Blerk beaten into third place.
After making a startling comeback yesterday, resurgent distance runner Louisa Leballo hopes to put up a fight for the rest of the season in search of the lucrative Spar Grand Prix title.
Leballo stunned the country’s top athletes, storming to a surprise victory at the first of six legs in the women’s 10km road running campaign in Cape Town.
“I want to run a marathon later this year, but for now I just hope to be competitive at more races in this series and earn more points,” Leballo said.
The 39-year-old athlete returned to competitive racing late last season after being sidelined for four years with injuries to both knees, and she proved she was back to her best in the Mother City as she charged across the line in 32:58.
Leballo chopped 31 seconds off her personal best which had been set in Soweto more than 13 years ago.
“I never thought I would win today because I was sick this week,” she said.
“The race started fast but this was my first Spar 10km in Cape Town, so I just had to go with the pace. It was okay in the end.”
In a hard-fought battle, in-form Kesa Molotsane took second place in a sprint for the line, covering the new course in 32:59 in her series debut.
Molotsane, who finished 36th at the World Cross Country Championships in Kampala a week earlier (three places behind Leballo), ripped more than two minutes off her career record set in Benoni in January.
“I’ve had two hectic races in the past seven days but it turned out perfectly,” Molotsane said.
“It’s always nice to run at the coast and I’m very pleased with the way it went today.”
Defending series champion Irvette van Zyl, who did much of the front running throughout the race, settled for third position in 33:07.