Rene Kalmer tips Ethiopian Tadu Nare to break her records

With three remarkable wins in Gqeberha, Durban, and Mbombela, Nare is on the verge of a third Grand Prix if she emerges victorious in Tshwane on 5 August. At just 22 years of age, Nare has plenty of time to continue setting records in the Spar women’s 10km challenge and establish herself as a true race legend. 

"She's running brilliantly at the moment, and also for the past three years. I'm really happy for her to equal that record, and I actually think she's going to win the Grand Prix Series a couple more times, this is not the end of Tadu Nare,"  Kalmer said.  

However, should Nare secure her third series title and surpass Kalmer and van Zyl’s record, what implications would this hold for the South African athletes?

"That's what records are there for, to be broken. We've seen over the years that with the likes of Tadu, and other Ethiopian runners it really pushes the South African runners to run faster times.

"It's really good to see athletes taking up the challenge, to run faster so the quality of distance running in South Africa is also improving."

Glenrose Xaba is the only South African to podium in three of the four races thus far, behind Selam Gebre, also from Ethiopia and, of course, Nare. Kalmer believes defeating Nare necessitates nothing short of a miracle for the local runners.

(Laughs) "I think for South Africans to run the Grand Prix race, maybe Tadu must miss her flight to Johannesburg", laughs further. 

"Tadu is really an exceptional athlete and she's performing not only on the 10k races but also she's a phenomenal marathon runner as well. So, I think there's still a big gap for South African runners to close that gap to beat Tadu."