Tayla Kavanagh stuns Glenrose Xaba to win Grand Prix race
· Citizen
Tayla Kavanagh delivered a stunning performance on Sunday, earning 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.
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Kavanagh 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.
The 24-year-old athlete completed the contest in 31:33, chopping eight seconds off her personal best (31:41) set in Cape Town in October last year. She was just 21 seconds outside the national 10km record (31:12) held by Xaba.
Xaba was five seconds off the pace, crossing the finish line in 31:38, while Kyla Jacobs took a big step forward in her comeback to elite competition (after having her first child last year) by taking third place in a career best 32:16.
‘A good battle’
Kavanagh was all smiles after handing Xaba a rare defeat and taking the early lead in the Spar Grand Prix series.
“We had a good battle out there. The race went really 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.
“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.”