"She's my queen" - Glenrose Xaba dedicates 2024 SPAR Grand Prix title to her beloved gogo
Eight months ago before she had even run a single race of the Grand Prix, Glenrose Xaba boldly announced that not only did she want to win the SPAR Grand Prix, but she also wanted to break Elana Meyer’s Long standing 10km SA record. Today the 29-year-old received a standing ovation as she stood up to receive her award for winning the four of five SPAR Grand Prix races to become the first South African to win the title since foreign athletes were allowed to compete back in 2019. What’s more not only did she break Elana Meyer's 23-year-old record when she ran 31:12 for fourth place at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K in July, she also smashed Gerda Steyn’s national record when she won the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on debut just over a fortnight ago.
"I'm very grateful to win everything that I planned," she said during the glitzy SPAR Grand Prix Awards which took place at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park. "It wasn't easy. It's was very hard for me, but if you have a support structure like Caster Semenya and Violet then you can do well. They are always there for me. They have taught me to be disciplined. Discipline is what helps you to be consistent and achieve your goals."
In singling out her support structure which includes training partners Karabo Mailula, Karabo More and Karabo Motsoeneng, the diminutive Boxer Athletic Club distance running sensation highlights the well-known fact that success is rarely a solo effort. In fact, Xaba revealed that were it not for the people in her camp, she may not even be running.
"I battled with many injuries in 2021. I would peak and then get injured, and peak again and get injured again. I was at the point of giving up athletics to go back home and live with my family. But Violet told me not to give up. She used Caster as an example, pointing out that Caster went through a lot in life but never gave up, so why should I? She told me to believe in myself and never give up because God’s time is coming."
With the help of Power2Health, she overcame the testing injury period. Her decision to persevere has been richly rewarded. Today, SuperCharger walked away with a total of R487 000. R207 000 for winning the Cape Town, Durban Tshwane, Gqeberha and Joburg legs of the SPAR Grand Prix, to go with her runner-up finish behind Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare in Durban. A further R200 000 was gifted to her as the overall series champion, with an additional R75 000 for finishing as much-loved women’s only 10km road running series as the first placed South African. Adding the hundreds of thousands she pocketed in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series and at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, the top runner who hails from the Mpumalanga township of eMbalenhle near Bethal has ended the season more than a million Rand richer than she started. She says her first financial priority is to improve the lives of her family.
"I'm going to renovate my mom’s house. She was always praying a lot for me. Last year I was helping my grandmother with her house so this year I'll be focusing on my mom’s house. I’ll invest the rest so that in future I can buy my own house and car." For now, Xaba doesn’t need to buy a car because along with her handsome prize purse she also won the use of a Proton X50 for a year, whose first trip will be to the western Mpumalanga town of Secunda to visit her beloved grandmother.
"The first destination is my grandma's house. I'm very close to her. She's met great ancestor. She's the one that believed in me a lot and she always motivates me to do well. She taught me when I was young that if I like athletics all I need to do is believe in myself and she'll support me with everything else. She’s my best. She's my queen."
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