Centurion - Fresh off her win in the women’s 10 000m at the Athletics SA National Championship in Cape Town last week, Glenrose Xaba said it was one of the biggest achievements of her career.
Crossing the line in 32:31.49, the 27-year-old claimed victory well ahead of Cian Oldknow (33:16.58) in second and Cacisile Sosibo in third (34:19.85).
“This one makes me the proudest because I easily broke my PB (personal best) from 2018 even in the cold and the wind,” said Xaba.
Xaba is coached by two-time Olympic women’s 800m champion Caster Semenya. Interestingly, Semenya ran as a pacemaker for her athlete in the event, dropping out at 6000m.
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“I was fortunate to have my coach, training partner and friend Caster Semenya running with me for the first half of the race. My body responded very well at the 5km mark. I was feeling very strong today. I will never forget this run.”
Though Xaba claimed victory in the 10 000m, she was coming off the disappointment of missing out on a medal in the 5000m.
Despite being ousted in the shorter event, Xaba said she hoped to qualify for both the 5000m and 10 000m at the World Championships later this year.
Xaba said the goal was “To qualify for the World Athletics Championships in the USA in July.
“I am very confident I can run the 5 000m qualifying time, but I will need to work towards the 10 000m. Even in the cold and wind today I was able to beat my personal best by almost 30 seconds. So if I compete in Europe in warm, still conditions I believe I can beat the 10 000m qualifying time and book my ticket to Oregon.”