Glenrose Xaba one win away from becoming Grand Prix queen

The Boxer Running Club star is currently tied on three Grand Prix titles with fellow South Africans Rene Kalmer and Irvette van Zyl, as well as Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare.

Xaba returned from the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, where she was South Africa’s best finisher in the half-marathon after taking 13th place in 1:07:49, running the second-fastest time of her career.

She is now focused on adding another victory to her Grand Prix record.

The series consists of five races in Cape Town, Durban, Tshwane, Gqeberha and Johannesburg.

The athlete who collects the most points will be crowned the overall champion and pocket R203 000 in prize money.

Xaba finished second in Cape Town before winning the Tshwane leg in a new course record.

She missed the Durban race because of a clash with a race in the United States.

Taylor Kavanagh, who won in Cape Town and Durban, missed the Tshwane race and has confirmed that she will not compete in Gqeberha or Johannesburg because of her busy international schedule.

That gives Xaba a big opportunity to move closer to making history.

She also skipped the Absa Run Your City Joburg 10km on Heritage Day to give her body time to recover and prepare for the Spar race.

Xaba knows she will start as the favourite, but her goal goes beyond winning races. She wants to inspire young girls to believe that anything is possible.

The 31-year-old already holds South African records in the marathon, half-marathon and 10km.

Adding the Grand Prix title to her achievements would be another major milestone.

“I just want to inspire the youngsters and make history,” Xaba told SABC Sport.

Ethiopia’s Salem Gabre, who has finished second twice in the series after missing the opening race in Cape Town because of travel documents, will be among those looking to challenge Xaba.