ATHLETICS NEWS - The 2019 Spar Grand Prix appears to be destined to be won by a foreign runner for the first time in its history.
Namibian sensation Helalia Johannes has made a solid start in her quest for Grand Prix glory, winning the first two SPAR Women’s 10km races, in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, in record time.
She has accumulated 60 points, having earned 10 bonus points in both races.
The Cape Town Spar Challenge is remarkable in that the first 11 runners to cross the finish line all recorded times under 34 minutes and all earned valuable bonus points.
The exciting Ethiopian junior, Tadu Teshame (Nedbank) is in second position with 57 points, after finishing second in Port Elizabeth and third in Cape Town. Seven runners earned bonus points in Port Elizabeth.
Two former Grand Prix winners, Kesa Molotsane (Murray & Roberts) and Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) are in third and fourth place. Molotsane, who finished third in Port Elizabeth and sixth in Cape Town, has 53 points. Van Zyl finished fifth and seventh respectively and has 50 points.
In 2019, Van Zyl was the only runner to earn bonus points when she won the Joburg Challenge in record time. The fast pace of the races this year has been attributed to the presence of a number of international athletes from Namibia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In Cape Town, the first five to finish were all runners from other African countries.
Molotsane welcomed the presence of the international athletes.
