Glenrose Xaba gunning for whopping sixth national half-marathon title in a row
Glenrose Xaba will chase her sixth national half-marathon title in a row for Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) as part of a star-studded field at the ASA Road Running Championships in Namakgale, Phalaborwa, on Saturday.
Men's defending champion Elroy Gelant will also be among the pre-race favourites in the half-marathon that is incorporated into the F21 Half-Marathon.
Xaba was the first South African home over the 21.1km distance at last year's national championships in Gqeberha, finishing fourth overall in 1:13:42. Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) athlete Cacisile Sosibo was fifth, in a time of 1:13:51. She is likely to once again be Xaba's strongest challenger.
Gelant, who overcame tough conditions to win the SA men's title in Gqeberha last year, will be joined in the line-up by Athletics Central North West (ACNW) teammate Thabang Mosiako, also a former national champion.
They are up against a field that also includes in-form athlete Bennet Seloyi, representing Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA).
Xaba holds the national marathon and 10km records on the road, as well as the 5 000m and 10 000m records on the track. The multi-talented star is also eyeing ranking points in her bid to qualify for the track 5 000m and 10 000m at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
The ASA Road Running Championships will also be key to national marathon record holder Gelant's build-up to the world champs. He has made clear his ambition to grab a podium finish at the Tokyo showpiece, after finishing in eleventh place in the marathon at the Paris Olympics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
23 minutes ago
- The South African
Spirited Springbok Women show promise in agonising defeat to Black Ferns
The Springbok Women impressed with heart and power but suffered a narrow 34–26 defeat to the Black Ferns XV in Cape Town. The Black Ferns XV struck early when Mererangi Paul broke through to score in the second minute at Athlone Stadium on Saturday. South Africa responded with fire, and Anathi Qolo nearly scored before a turnover handed momentum back to the dangerous visitors. Moments later, Babalwa Latsha and Aseza Hele powered forward, gaining metres and setting up strong attacking platforms in the opposition's 22. South Africa's scrum dominance showed as they won a heel against the head and mauled brilliantly to set up Hele's opening try. Jakkie Cilliers converted cleanly, and the Springbok Women took a confident 7–5 lead after ten physical, back-and-forth opening minutes. The Black Ferns XV hit back, capitalising on South African ill-discipline as Vainah Ubisi received a yellow for repeated infringements. Kelsey Teneti finished a slick backline move and moments later intercepted a pass to race in for another unconverted try. Hele once again used the maul to her advantage, dotting down to reduce the deficit to 15–12 in an intense half. Teneti completed her brace before halftime as Eloise Webb's yellow card left South Africa with only 13 defenders on the field. A try-saving obstruction call denied the visitors before halftime, but they still entered the break leading 20–12 after missed conversions. In the second half, Hollyrae Mete-Renata extended the lead following relentless pressure close to the Springbok Women's tryline. Teneti punished a midfield blunder to grab her hat-trick, stretching the margin to 34–12 with twenty minutes remaining. Captain Latsha powered over next, Cilliers added the extras, and South Africa surged back into the game with renewed confidence. After sustained dominance, Catha Jacobs was held up before Nombuyekezo Mdliki finally scored, closing the gap to eight with minutes left. Despite relentless late attacks from stars like Nadine Roos and Hele, South Africa ran out of time to complete the comeback. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Orlando Pirates signings impress teammates
Recent Orlando Pirates signings Masindi Nemtanjela from Marumo Gallants and Nkosikhona Ndaba from Richards Bay are among the early standouts in pre-season training and friendly matches. Both players have made a noticeable impact on the training ground and in competitive action, catching the eye of some of the Orlando Pirates' more established names. According to Boitumelo Radiopane and Evidence Makgopa, the club's supporters should get excited over Nemtajela and Ndaba. Latest talk: Orlando Pirates and Relebohile Mofokeng move Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou trains his team at the Rand Stadium before the preseason camp in Marbella, Spain. Image: @orlandopirates/X 'For me, I think I have known almost all the players [from previously playing with them], but I think the one I only recently got to play with was Nemtanjela from Marumo Gallants,' said Radiopane via Radio 2000 . Orlando Pirates can replace Mofokeng says Vilakazi 'I recently got to play with him at the COASA FA Cup when we played in Bloemfontein. I think he is also a very good player. Very mobile, full of quality, but we will see. Makgopa added: 'The player that impressed me and I was not familiar with was Ndaba. Ndaba, from Richards Bay. That boy impressed me. He is kind of like Hotto. I was surprised, but most of the time I had seen him, but now I can see that okay…' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Springbok Women run Black Ferns XV close in narrow defeat at Athlone Stadium
Powerful No 8 Aseza Hele scored two tries for the Springbok Women against the Black Ferns XV on Saturday. Image: Henk Kuger/Independent Newspapers The Springbok Women suffered a narrow 34-26 loss against the Blacks Ferns XV in the first of two international friendlies at a windy Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday evening. The half-time score was 20-15. There was a strong early scrum by the Bok Women, who tried to show their power, but the Black Ferns spread the ball wide quickly off their feed and fullback Mererangi Paul scored in the right corner with the Boks short of defensive numbers in the second minute. Lock Anathi Qolo came close to a quick reply for SA, but had no support with the tryline beckoning. The Bok scrum continued to put the squeeze on their opponents and they eventually won a penalty after the 10th minute. Handling errors in broken play proved costly for the South African women, however. In fact, both teams struggled in the blustery conditions. The Bok tight five shoved the Black Ferns off the ball in a scrum and won a penalty in the following passage of play that they put into touch close to the Black Ferns try line. The Springbok Women get their reward 🙌 Cilliers gets the conversion to reduce the margin to eight 🎯 📺 Stream #RSAvNZL on DStv: — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 26, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Bok No 8 Aseza Hele charged over the line after the Black Ferns struggled to cope with a rolling maul from the lineout for the Bok Women's first points of the match. Wing Jakkie Cillers added the two points with the conversion and the Bok Women were 7-5 in front A chip and chase by the Black Ferns left the Bok defence at sixes and sevens and Vaina Ubisi was shown yellow for a desperate try-saving tackle from an offside position close to the line after 20 minutes. The Black Ferns spread the ball through the hands to the right wing from the resultant tap penalty and Kelsey Teneti sauntered in for the try. King again missed the conversion attempt. A floated Libbie Janse van Rensburg pass deep in Bok territory was then gobbled up by Black Ferns wing Jaymie Kolose who scored their third try. Hela again responded for the Springbok Women off a rolling maul in the 31st minute to bring the home team within three points at 15-12. Bok Women's coach Swys de Bruin would have been worried by the amount of space on the home side's flanks. When outside centre Eloise Webb was also shown yellow in the 37th minute for an intentional knock-on, they were again punished out wide. Teneti was again the scorer. An obstruction in the build-up denied the visitors another try after the hooter. The Bok Women were also unlucky not to score a try of their own after a number of attacking phases. Trailing at the break, but far from done. A big second half coming from the #BokWomen 🔥#MakeItCount — SA Women's Rugby (@WomenBoks) July 26, 2025 Webb returned from the sin bin. The Bok scrum continued to cause problems for the visitors' pack. But the defensive steel was lacking minutes later when Hollyrae Mete-Renata barged over the line despite the attentions of a number of Bok defenders. Replacement flyhalf Kaea Nepia kicked the first conversion of the match for the Black Ferns. When Teneti pounced on the loose ball to complete her hat-trick moments later, the Bok Women were in deep trouble. The SA forwards continued to provide front-foot ball, however, and skipper Babalwa Latsha drove over for a well-deserved try after sustained Springbok pressure after the 50th minute. Cilliers added the two points. Latsha grew in stature as the Bok Women started to make the hard yards. Fired-up centre Chumisa Qawe was also hitting the line hard. Yet the visitors held firm. The penalty count was mounting in favour of the home side and a yellow for Maama Vaipulu in the 64th minute gave the SA side a potential way back into the match. Bok subsitute Nombuyekezo Mdliki thought she had scored two minutes later after a number of phases of attacking play, but it was ruled out for obstruction in the build-up. They hammered away at the Black Ferns defensive line, with Nadine Roos shifted from fullback to scrumhalf. But handling errors and poor decision making cost the SA side once again with time running out. The Bok Women threw everything at the Black Ferns with less than three minutes to go, and the charging Mdliki would not be denied this time. They continued to press but could not add to the scoreline. Points scorers Springbok Women 26 Tries: Hele (2), Latsha, Mdliki; Conversions: Cilliers (3) Black Ferns XV 34 Tries: Paul, Teneti (3), Kolosi, Mete-Renata; Conversions: Nepia (2)
