Glenrose Xaba is still hoping to qualify for the 5 000m and 10 000m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September, although the marathon remains a viable option for the in-form road and track star.
Xaba revealed her ambitions for the global athletics showpiece after storming to victory in the Durban leg of the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge on Sunday, clocking 31:54. The Boxer Athletics Club ace made light work of the challenge posed by Ethiopian duo Diniya Abaray (32:09) and an out-of-sorts Selam Gebre (32:25), who settled for second and third respectively.
The holder of the SPAR Grand Prix title — and early favourite to retain it this year — took control of the Durban race shortly after the 7km mark. Her rivals could not live with her searing pace over the closing stages and ultimately finished well behind.
It was Xaba’s second win of this year’s series, having already claimed the opening leg in Cape Town.
While she has been virtually untouchable on the road in 2024, with three 10km titles to her name, Xaba still longs to replicate the success her coach and mentor, Caster Semenya, enjoyed on the track at the World Championships. The 800m legend is also a two-time Olympic gold medallist.
“My plan is to qualify for the 5 000m and 10 000m on the track at any event where I can qualify because I’ve already qualified for the marathon,” she said in the aftermath of her win in Durban.
“If I don’t achieve the standard in the 5 000m and 10 000m, then I’ll switch to the marathon just to represent the country at the World Champs
The versatile athlete recently returned from an international trip in pursuit of qualification for the two track events.
“My first race was a fast 5 000m in Paris, France. It went very well, according to plan,” she said.
“We can do much better in training, but if you don’t get a very fast race then you won’t run quick. But I was able to grab a personal best of 15:10 (15:10.62) and I’m happy with what I achieved in France.”
“Then I tried again to qualify over my favourite distance, the 10 000m, in The Netherlands. I ran my best there, but the ladies were not very quick and I was pushing the pace.
“I ended up third, but I got experience and learnt a lot. When it comes to international track and field, I hope that I can get a lot of fast races so that I can improve on my times.”
Despite her dominance on the road, with a hat-trick of recent 10km titles, Xaba knows she cannot afford to ease up.
“My third 10km race win makes me work harder and not relax. One win does not mean that you’ve achieved. It means that you’ve got to work harder because others, they are also training, they want to be like you, and it means you need to put in extra hard work,” she concluded.
