SPAR Grand Prix title holder Kesa Molotsane (KPMG), who dominated the SPAR Women’s 10km Series last year, continued her winning ways on Sunday with a comprehensive win in the opening race of the 2018 series at the Bellville Stadium in Cape Town.

Her winning time was 34.10. 

Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) was second, in 34.39 and Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) was third in 35.07. It was an amazing performance by the three-times winner of the SPAR Grand Prix, because she is six months pregnant with her second child.

Christine Kalmer (KPMG) took the lead initially, running just ahead of Maria Shai (Boxer), with a number of runners, including Molotsane and Van Zyl, running in a group behind them.

Approaching the 4km mark, Xaba and Zintle Xiniwe pulled ahead and Kalmer and Van Zyl appeared to lose touch, but at the halfway point, Van Zyl surged ahead of the pack. Xaba and Xiniwe were close behind and for a time, Durbanville runner Olga Firsova took the lead. However, she fell back and Molotsane, who was looking very comfortable, applied her famous kick and took over the lead. She finished well ahead of the rest of the runners.

“It was a great start to the year for me,” said Molotsane, who said she had been suffering from flu after returning from the African cross-country championships in Algeria.  

“I only discovered on Wednesday that we weren’t running at Greenpoint, but I liked the route. There were some hills, but it’s not like Johannesburg hills. I think it was challenging, but it wasn’t that hard.”

“I was thinking to go maybe after 7km, because the race really starts at 7km, so I told myself just to relax and then kick.
"When Kesa kicked, I just tried to go with her," said Xaba. 

Van Zyl was beaming at the post race media conference.

“I really enjoyed the race,” she said.