Xaba hails the presence of Semenya and Raseboya in her life

Long-distance sensation Glenrose Xaba has set her sights on qualifying for the World Championships in the USA in July and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August over the 10 000m distance.

Xaba ran a new personal best of 32:31:49 to defend her 10 000m title at the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town last month.

The soft-spoken middle-stance star promised to run faster in her next race to achieve her objective.

She is preparing to run in the Absa Run Your City 10km race in Cape Town Sunday, 15 May. She is targeting sub-31 minutes to qualify for the championships.

Xaba has been troubled by a knee injury and went on numerous operations hoping to address the problem last year. The injury affected her performance, and she left her training group under Michael Seme to join Caster Semenya™s training group.

Xaba said without Semenya and her partner Violet Raseboya, her career would have been over.

œI want to thank Caster, my training partner, and coach and mentor Violet (Raseboya) for always being there for me. I also want to thank my training group under Semenya for always supporting me. I have been down and out because of an injury, and I went through an emotional year. But they always supported me and helped me focus on my races, said Xaba.

Xaba is confident of running sub-31 minutes in the 10km race in Cape Town on Sunday, and Semenya and Raseboya will be there to support her reach her goal.

œI will run the Absa series 10km leg in Cape Town and am confident I can qualify for the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships. I am healthy and optimistic, and I can run 31 minutes flat, added Xaba.

By Charles Baloyi