Golden Xaba off to African champs with confidence
Star came seventh in Gqeberha to earn gold
After successfully defending her ASA Half Marathon Championships title over the weekend, road running ace Glenrose Xaba has set her sights on doing well in the upcoming African Championships in Port-Louis, Mauritius, this week.
The Caster Semenya mentee has been in good condition and form this season as she looks to be entering the prime years of her career. Xaba will go to Mauritius for the June 8-12 event with confidence on the back of retaining her SA title in the 21km championships held in Gqeberha.
The women's open race was won by Ethiopia's Ftaw Bezabh in 1:06:57. Xaba finished seventh with a time of 1:10:41, enabling her to grab gold in the national championship ahead of Irvette van Zyl who earned silver in 1:11:19, while Lebo Phalula got bronze in 1:14:23.
"I'm okay with coming in seventh and being the first South African, with a season-best," said Xaba when reflecting on her performance in Gqeberha.
"It was tough for me because after 15km I was feeling a bit weak, I'm glad I was able to finish the race.
"I'm happy to have added another title to my name. I'm glad God helped me finish the race. I thank my coach Caster Semenya, my mentor Violet Raseboya and my training group," she said.
Now Xaba will shift her attention to the African Championships where she's scheduled to take part in the 10,000m.
"I'm looking forward to more racing but for now I'm going to try and focus on the African Championships so I can qualify for the World Champs or Commonwealth Games," she said.
Meanwhile, Gqeberha native Melikhaya Frans won gold in the men's race at a time of 1:01:03. He was delighted to have thrilled in front of his home crowd, finishing second in the overall race behind Lesotho's Namakoe Nkhasi.
"I had a lot of people around the course shouting my name and I'm very happy to have won the SA title at home. I'm excited because I think this will change my status. I'm also very pleased with my personal best time and to have broken the provincial record," said Frans.