It was a case of swapping positions in the second Spar 10km women’s Grand Prix in Durban yesterday, with Ethiopian Tadu Nare taking the first position and relegating Helalia Johannes of Namibia to second place.

Johannes, who had emerged tops in the first edition in Gqeberha last month, cited fatigue as the main reason she finished a few steps behind the exceptional Nare, who sauntered into the King’s Park Swimming Arena in 31:50, nine seconds ahead of Johannes.

“It was just not my day,” the soft-spoken Johannes, who made history by winning all six races in 2019, told the post-race press conference. “Yesterday [Saturday], I woke up at 4am in Namibia and headed to the airport, but I missed my flight and had to wait for three hours.

"When I got to Joburg, I missed a connecting flight, another long wait. So I have been suffering from headaches as a result, I wasn’t sure if I would compete because when I tried to push my body, it just wouldn’t respond.”

Nare had a clear game plan of breaking away from the pack with 2km left. “I wanted to sprint from about 8km, but the chasing pack was still with me. When we got to 9km, I decided this was the moment and gave my 100%,” said Nare, who is the defending champion of the Grand Prix.

The top two were joined on the podium by young Ethiopian Selam Gebre, who came third in 32.17. Irvette van Zyl and Kesa Molotsane followed as the top-placed South Africans.

Like Johannes, Van Zyl complained of feeling unwell but pushed herself to run 33:03. “It was not the most comfortable run because I got sick two weeks ago. I was a bit off balance but I told myself to take it one kilometre at a time. I’m just glad I started and finished the race,” the Nedbank runner said.

With Nare and Johannes tied at the top, next month’s edition in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, should provide a clearer indication of where this year’s Grand Prix is headed, though Johannes could hand the early initiative to her Ethiopian competitor due to the Commonweath Games starting July 28.

“I will be in Mbombela but I will miss the next one [in Pretoria on August 6] because I’m going to run the marathon at the Commonwealth Games,” Johannes said.

Should Nare win in Mpumalanga’s debut race on July 16, that will in all likelihood settle the Grand Prix with the Tshwane, Johannesburg (October 2) and Cape Town (October 23) legs to follow.