Sensational Phalula wins Spar Ladies PE

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Diana-Lebo Phalula ran the fastest women's ten-kilometre road race in South Africa in five years when she won the Port Elizabeth leg of the Spar Ladies Challenge on Saturday morning in a time of 32 minutes and 27 seconds.
The Pretoria runner equalled the time set by Rene Kalmer in a Spar Ladies Race in Durban in 2009.

Kalmer had to settle for a distant second in the PE race, exactly a minute behind Phalula in 33:27.
Mapaseka Makhanya rounded out the top three in 33:28.

Phalula is enjoying a phenomenal season since switching coaches and is fresh off victory in the Cape Town leg of the Spar Women's 10-kilometre Challenge Series and in the half marathon at Two Oceans.

She also runs barefoot and says she decided to put down the hammer at the two kilometre mark in PE. She quickly opened up a gap of 50 metres which soon stretched to 100 metres and was able to run the last three quarters of the race unchallenged to the finish.

pic (left to right)

Mapaseka Makhanya, Diana-Lebo Phalula and Rene Kalmer

Full results below:

Open: 1 Diana Lebo Phalula (Maxed Elite) 32.27; 2 Rene Kalmer (Modern Athlete) 33.27; 3 Mapaseka Makhanya (Boxer) 33.28; 4 Hunduma Gemeda (Nedbank) 33.35; 5 Rutendo Nyahora (Nedbank) 33.48; 6 Lebogang Phalula (Transnet) 34.06, 7 Chelity Asefa (Nedbank) 34.18; 8 Lineo Chaka (Nedbank) 34.27; 9 Nolene Conrad (Boxer) 34.39; 10 Irvette van Zyl (Nedbank) 34.54.

Junior: 1 Simonay Weitsz 35.46; 2 Annie Bothma 35.57; 3 Nicole van der Merwe 37.10; 4 Jamie-Lee Schlemmer 39.36; 5 Siphokazi Nojoko 42.57

Age group 40-49: 1 Ronel Thomas 38.34; 2 Janene Carey 38.40; 3 Lana Theunissen 41.13

Age group 50-59: 1 Elmarie Coetzee 40.57; 2 Annatjie Botes 42.41; 3 Janette Scheirz-Crusius 44.19

Age group 60-69: 1 Margie Saunders 42.26; 2 Liz Grundlingh 53.22; 3 Sonja Laxton 57.12