CAPE TOWN – Tayla Kavanagh delivered a stunning performance to earn her first victory in a SPAR Grand Prix race at the opening leg of this year’s 10km women’s road running series in Cape Town on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Hollywood Athletics Club athlete held on to the back of defending series champion Glenrose Xaba for most of the race before launching a furious kick in the closing stages to snatch the win.
Kavanagh completed the contest in 31:33, chopping eight seconds off her personal best set in Cape Town in October last year. She finished just 21 seconds outside the national 10km record of 31:12 held by Xaba.
Xaba settles for second place
Xaba was five seconds off the pace, crossing the finish line in 31:38, while her Boxer Athletics Club teammate Kyla Jacobs took a big step forward in her comeback to elite competition by claiming third place in a career best 32:16.
In a quick race, the top seven women all dipped under 34 minutes.
“We had a good battle out there. The race went well and I’m happy to walk away with a personal best today,” Kavanagh said afterwards.
“It was a good, honest race between me and Glenrose. I love racing against her, and we put in a good, hard effort out there today, so all-round it was a great race.”
Pleased with training progress
The winner was thrilled with her breakthrough performance after months of dedicated preparation.
“I’ve put in a lot of work in training, so I’m really proud of myself and the team around me, and I’m very blessed and grateful to walk away with the win,” Kavanagh said.
Xaba admitted she had hoped Kavanagh would help push the pace, with the eventual winner opting to sit back before putting in a surge in the chase for the line.
“I thought Tayla would come on board and we could help each other along the way, but she didn’t take the lead, so I tried my best to push the pace,” Xaba said.
“If she pushed the pace with me, I think we were going to run even better times, but I’m very happy with the result and it shows the standard in South Africa is improving.”
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Jacobs completes comeback
After picking up a stress fracture in 2023, Jacobs had to undergo surgery, and she then took a break from competitive athletics to have her first child, who was born in February last year.
“I’m happy to be back on the podium here with a new personal best. It shows that I’m moving in the right direction,” Jacobs said.
“I still have big plans for the rest of the year, but Spar is always a fun event to be part of, so it’s great to be back racing with the girls.”
Coaching praise for rising standards
With Karabo More also setting a personal best of 32:34 in fourth position, Violet Semenya said she was pleased to see women runners in South Africa continuing to raise the standard.
“They are definitely on the right path, following in the steps of Glenrose, and the athletes just need to believe in themselves,” said Semenya, who coaches Xaba and More alongside her wife and coaching partner Caster Semenya.
Olympian Caster Semenya also competed in Sunday’s 10km race, finishing 12th in 35:44.
“I came to Cape Town to give my team support and decided to race as well. I am a big fan of the SPAR Grand Prix series,” Semenya said.
“Firstly, it’s a women’s only series which us women love and secondly the series has contributed so much to the promotion and development of women’s road running in all age groups in the country.”
ALSO READ: Caster and Xaba headline Cape Town Spar Women’s 10km Challenge
Lucky draw winner
Following the race, one lucky winner from the 18 000 entries was drawn to win a Hyundai Exter valued at R270 000. The winner was Melanie Raaf of Hawston, Hermanus, a first-time participant in the Cape Town SPAR Women’s Challenge.
Top 10 results:
- Tayla Kavanagh (Hollywood) 31:33
- Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) 31:38
- Kyla Jacobs (Boxer) 32:16
- Karabo More (Boxer) 32:34
- Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer) 32:42
- Karabo Mailula (Tuks) 33:28
- Irvette van Zyl (Hollywood) 33:43
- Zanthe Taljaard (Boxer) 34:23
- Carina Swiegers (Boxer) 34:47
- Elizabeth Hutamo (Boxer) 35:09
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