Addis Ababa (Ethiopia Today), April 23, 2023: In her first time in South Africa and her first 10km race, Ethiopian Hiyane Lama won the opening leg of the Spar Women’s Grand Prix Series in wet and cold conditions at the Green Point Athletics Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday.
The 21-year-old from Addis Ababa won the race in a time of 33:42, ahead of fellow Ethiopian Selam Gebre, the overall runner-up from last year, who finished two seconds later.
Lama and Selam ran in the colors of the Nedbank Running Club.
Glenrose Xaba was the first South African to cross the finish line, as she came third in a time of 34:05.
Xaba is the last South African to win a race and the last to win the overall Women’s Grand Prix Series. The Boxer Athletics Club runner was the overall winner in 2018.
With 2019 winner Helalia Johannes from Namibia being a no-show due to injury, as well as 2021 winner Tadu Nare and last year’s winner Tadu Nare running at the London Marathon, their absence at the race was expected to open a small window of opportunity for local runners to halt the Ethiopian dominance.
But it was not to be. It looked like Xaba was going to win the race with 2km left, but newcomers Lama and Gebre accelerated past her for a one-two finish.
Credit:City Press
