Glenrose Xaba breaks Elana Meyer’s long-standing SA 10km record

Xaba finished fourth  in the Absa Run Your City Durban 10km race on Sunday morning, clocking a time of 31:12 – one second off the record set by Meyer in Budapest 23 years ago.

Xaba, a three-time national 10km title holder, was ecstatic to have finally broken her idol’s long-standing record.

"I'm feeling very excited, I just want to thank my team, my coaches, Violet and Caster Semenya, and my manager for organising this race," reacted Xaba.

"I want to thank Michael Meyer also for inviting me, and Puma for organising those fast shoes for me before the race – I'm very excited to break one of the SA records of Elana Meyer because she taught me when I was still young.

"She said, 'Glenrose, you've got too much oxygen in your lungs, one day you will be able to run one of my SA records, and you will be fast in the half-marathon and marathon, just keep believing in yourself and train very hard to achieve it.'"

The 29-year-old, who, despite her achievement, crossed the finish line behind Kenya’s Christine Njoki (30:37 PB), Ethiopia’s Debash Desta (31:00) and Judith Kiyeng (31:10) also of Kenya, pocketed R145 000 for her efforts.

Xaba honoured Meyer after breaking her long-standing record, expressing gratitude for Meyer’s inspiration throughout her running career.

"Thank you Elana Meyer for motivating me. I was always looking at your times, and those national records, and told myself that I'm capable of doing anything, I'm very strong, and I will train very hard and keep on believing in myself," she added.

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