Athletics
Tayla springs a surprise in Cape Town to take the opening race of the 2026 SPAR Grand Prix Series
Twenty-four-year-old Durban athlete, Tayla Kavanagh, upset pre-race favourite and defending champion, Glenrose Xaba, in a thrilling climax to the SPAR Grand Prix 10km Series opener at Green Point, Cape Town this morning (Sunday 29 March).
18 000 runners and walkers took part in one of Cape Town’s most popular annual events, many making use of perfect cool and calm conditions to achieve their own personal goals. The traditional route included a three-kilometre circuit around the Cape Town Stadium precinct before an out and back loop along the Sea Point Promenade.
Kavanagh, the current national 10km road champion, was one to take advantage of the conditions, racing to a life-time best of 31 min 33 sec, eight seconds inside her previous fastest and just 21 seconds outside Xaba’s South African record.
“I woke up this morning and thought, oh my goodness, it’s such a beautiful day for racing,” said Kavanagh. “I hoped I would be able to make the most of the conditions and I’m very happy to have raced a PB”.
Although Zola Budd ran 32:20 as a 17-year-old before she raced for Great Britain, only Xaba, Elana Meyer and Colleen de Reuck have ever run faster than Kavanagh’s winning time and none of them at so young an age. The future looks bright for the Durban athlete, with higher honours beckoning.
Kavanagh and Xaba turned the event into a two-horse race from as early as the second kilometre and the two were five seconds clear of local favourite, Kyla Jacobs, and Xaba’s Boxer teammate, Karabo More.
Gauteng-based Boxer athlete, Cacisile Sosibo, was on her own in fifth, with another pair from the Boxer Athletics Club, Zanthe Taljaard and Carina Swieger running with and Tuks athlete, Karabo Mailula, a further ten seconds back.
Kavanagh held onto Xaba throughout the race before making her move just a kilometre from the finish. Xaba was equal to the challenge but when Kavanagh surged again 400 metres from home there was no response and she raced home to a five second victory.
Jacobs was delighted with her 32:16 in third, an impressive personal best over a minute inside her 32:59 in Durban in 2023. Back to her best after injury and giving birth to her daughter, Jacobs has joined the elite club of nine South Africans who have run inside 32:20 for the distance and is knocking on the sub-32 minute door.
More and Sosibo both ran personal bests in taking 4th and 5th respectively in 32:34 and 32:42 with Xaba’s training partner in the Caster and Violet Semenya camp, Karabo Mailula, 6th in 33:28.
Evergreen Irvette van Zyl, in training for the Two Oceans Ultra-Marathon next month, showed impressive speed to make up several positions in the second half to finish 7th.
Xaba admitted she had hoped Kavanagh would have helped with the pace earlier on. “If she had worked with me on the pace, I think we would have run even better times. But I’m very happy with the result and it shows the standard in South Africa is improving. Well, done to Tayla. She did so well and I’m proud of her.”
Kavanagh planned her race tactics to give her the best chance of winning. “I knew Glenrose likes to take it out hard from the start. So I thought I’d just try to hang-in as long as I could,” Kavanagh reflected.
“I thought, if I could just get to 9km with Glenrose, I’d have a chance. So I put in a surge (at 9km) but she came right back at me.
“I felt I still had something in my legs as we approached the final corner, about 500m from the finish. I pushed again and managed to open a small gap. I told myself not to just keep going and not look back, fully expecting her come past again. But she didn’t and I was very happy to win.”
Since emerging as a leading junior five years back, when she raced to a stunning 32:10 win in a Durban 10km race as a teenager, with Xaba finishing fourth, Kavanagh has been struggling with injury and her form.
“I had a few years when I struggled with injury and not running so well. Since Glenrose came back from injury in 2022, she’s gone to another level entirely and I’ve just been trying to catch up.
“This year’s gone pretty well so far. We missed the Ethiopians today, but otherwise it was a great race. Glenrose and I really push each other and it felt good to race her again.
“I’ve been doing some track work and my goal is to run the 5000m and 10 000m at SA Champs at Stellenbosch. I’m not sure about other road races yet, although I will likely come back in May to defend my Cape Town Peace 10km title.”
Results: SPAR Grand Prix Cape Town
1 Tayla Kavanagh (Hollywood) 31:33
2 Glenrose Xaba (Boxer) 31:38
3 Kyla Jacobs (Boxer) 32:16
4 Karabo More (Boxer) 32:34
5 Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer) 32:42
6 Karabo Mailula (Tuks) 33:28
7 Irvette van Zyl (Hollywood) 33:43
8 Zanthe Taljaard (Boxer) 34:23
9 Carina Swiegers (Boxer) 34:47
10 Elizabeth Hutamo (Boxer) 35:09
Juniors
1 Chanel Groenewald (Boxer) 37:17
2 Ruby Read (Atlantic) 39:35
3 Kezia Matthysen (Nedbank) 41:29
Masters: 40 years
1 Este van Tonder (Nedbank) 37:20
2 Elme Middlemost (Nedbank) 38:05
3 Michelle Minnaar (West End) 39:11
Masters: 50 years
1 Elizabeth Potter (Boxer) 38:46
2 Nerida Lubbe (Nedbank) 39:07
3 Janene Carey (Boxer) 39:30
Masters: 60 years
1 Judy Bird (Boxer) 41:03
2 Dalene Sonnekus (Nedbank) 42:44
3 Ester Brink (Balwin Strand) 43:07
Masters: 70 years
1 Margie Saunders (Nedbank) 44:24
2 Nancy Will (Pinelands) 48:27
3 Charmaine Cupido (Nedbank) 52:46
Masters: 80 years
1 Marietha Herbert (Bellville) 1:02:25
2 Marlene James (Pinelands) 1:14:29
3 Annatjie Berntzen (Goodwood Harriers) 1:36:47
The post Tayla springs a surprise in Cape Town to take the opening race of the 2026 SPAR Grand Prix Series appeared first on Sports Network Africa.
Nigeria’s trio of Rosemary Chukwuma, Blessing Ogundiran and Miracle Ezechukwu will battle for places in the women’s 100m final at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after learning their semi-final opponents in Glasgow on Tuesday.
With only the automatic qualifiers and fastest losers expected to progress to the medal race, all three Nigerians will need near season-best performances to keep Nigeria’s hopes alive.
Chukwuma Leads Nigeria’s Strongest Medal Hope
Rosemary Chukwuma has been drawn in Semi-final 1 and appears to have Nigeria’s best chance of reaching the final.
The Nigerian, who owns a personal best of 10.88 seconds and a season’s best of 10.95 seconds, is the second-fastest athlete in her race based on personal bests.
She will line up against Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye (10.82 PB), Australia’s Torrie Lewis (11.04), Canada’s Audrey Leduc (10.94), Jamaica’s Jodean Williams (10.97), Gambia’s Gina Mariam Bass Bittaye (10.93), England’s Mabel Akande (11.18) and Antigua and Barbuda’s G. Dowdye (11.34).
If Chukwuma produces a clean start and runs close to her personal best, she is well placed to secure one of the automatic qualifying spots or advance as a fastest loser.
Ogundiran Faces Tough Battle in Semi-final 2
Newly crowned Nigerian champion Blessing Ogundiran has been handed a difficult assignment in Semi-final 2.
The 10.98-second sprinter will race against Canada’s Sade McCreath (10.86 PB), Trinidad and Tobago’s Leah Bertrand (10.92), England’s Imani Lansiquot (10.99), British Virgin Islands’ Beyoncé Defreitas (11.14), Australia’s Ella Lane (11.29), Barbados’ Kishawna Niles (11.33) and Gabon’s P.L. Moulin (11.35).
Ogundiran’s personal best puts her among the leading contenders in the field, but she will need another sub-11-second performance to guarantee a place in the final.
Ezechukwu Out to Continue Dream Debut
After an impressive victory in her opening-round heat, Miracle Ezechukwu faces an even sterner challenge in Semi-final 3.
The youngster, who clocked 11.32 seconds to win her heat despite running from lane eight, owns a personal and season’s best of 11.15 seconds.
She will face Jamaica’s J. Smith (10.89 PB), New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs (10.94), England’s Amy Hunt (10.97), Singapore’s Veronica Shanti Pereira (11.20), Canada’s G. Cole (11.17), Australia’s G. Harris (11.38) and Zambia’s Edna Ng’andula (11.48).
While the race features several established international sprinters, Ezechukwu has already shown she can rise to the occasion. Another personal-best performance could put her in contention for a place in the final.
Nigeria’s Chances
Among the Nigerian trio, Rosemary Chukwuma appears to have the strongest opportunity to reach the final based on experience and personal best.
Blessing Ogundiran also has a realistic chance if she reproduces the form that saw her claim the Nigerian title, while Miracle Ezechukwu enters as the outsider but carries momentum after her confidence-boosting heat victory.
Should all three Nigerians produce their best performances, Nigeria could realistically have two, and possibly even all three, athletes lining up in the women’s 100m final later on Tuesday.
The post Glasgow 2026: Chukwuma, Ogundiran, Ezechukwu Face Stern Test in Women’s 100m Semi-finals appeared first on Sports247 Nigeria.
Athletics
Commonwealth Games 2026: Kanyinsola Ajayi Faces Omanyala, Saminu in Blockbuster Men’s 100m Semi-final
Nigeria’s sprint sensation Kanyinsola Ajayi will face one of the toughest tests of his Commonwealth Games campaign after being drawn in a star-studded Men’s 100m Semi-final 2 at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The Nigerian record holder is set to line up against an elite field that includes Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya,
Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Wales’ Jeremiah Azu, South Africa’s Bradley Nkoana, England’s Elliot Jones, Trinidad and Tobago’s Omari Lewis, and Australia’s Rohan Browning.
Ajayi, who owns a personal best of 9.84 seconds, will be aiming to secure one of the automatic qualification spots or advance as one of the fastest losers into the final in what promises to be the most competitive of the three semi-finals.
Nigeria will have three representatives in the men’s 100m semi-finals, with Favour Ashe, Kanyinsola Ajayi, and Alaba Nathan Fakorede all chasing places in the final.
With Ajayi drawn alongside some of the continent’s biggest sprint stars, all eyes will be on Semi-final 2 as the race for Commonwealth Games medals intensifies.
Men’s 100m Semi-final Draw
Semi-final 1
Mark Otieno Babu (Kenya)
Rohan Watson (Jamaica)
Emmanuel Eseme (Cameroon)
Benjamin Azamati (Ghana)
Lachlan Kennedy (Australia)
Favour Ashe (Nigeria)
Clarence Johnson (South Africa)
Duan Asemota (Canada)
Semi-final 2 (7:10 pm Nigerian time)
Elliot Jones (England)
Jeremiah Azu (Wales)
Abdul-Rasheed Saminu (Ghana)
Kanyinsola Ajayi (Nigeria)
Ferdinand Omanyala (Kenya)
Bradley Nkoana (South Africa)
Omari Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago)
Rohan Browning (Australia)
Semi-final 3
Kadeem Griffith (Barbados)
Mpho Koneshe (Lesotho)
Gift Leotlela (South Africa)
Alaba Nathan Fakorede (Nigeria)
Jerome Blake (Canada)
Ackeem Blake (Jamaica)
Edward Nketia (Australia)
Cejhae Greene (Antigua and Barbuda)
The post Commonwealth Games 2026: Kanyinsola Ajayi Faces Omanyala, Saminu in Blockbuster Men’s 100m Semi-final appeared first on Sports247 Nigeria.
Uganda’s 800M sensational woman runner Halimah Nakaayi qualified to the semi-final of the women 800M race at the on-going 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Nakaayi was third in the third heat with a time of 2:04.33 at the Scotstoun stadium on Monday afternoon.
England’s Georgia Hunter Bell won the race with 2:02.61 ahead of Jemma Reekie who came second with 2:03.09.
Nicole McKenzie finished fourth (2:05.07) as Abigail Abugire was fifth (2:06.31).
Adi Ceva Sova Lutumailagi and Tanesia Sylvina Gardiner finished 6th and 7th with times of 2:22.58 and 2:24.28 respectively.
Other qualified women:
Heat one had Great Britain’s Sarah Billings (2:01.51), Botswana’s Oratile Nowe (2:02.11) and Kenyan Janet Jepkemoi (2:02.30) as the best three runners.
Heat two had Kenya’s Lilian Odira (2:01.05), Isabelle Boffey (2:01.53) and Jamaican Kelly-Ann Beckford (2:01.63) as the best three.
In the same heat, Rwanda’s Claire Umitonze had her seasonal best timing of 2:06.95.
From heat four; Gabon’s Shafiqua Maloney was outstanding with 2:02.83 ahead of Rachel Klopfenstein (2:03.04) and Scotland’s Erin Wallace (2:03.15).
Uganda is also represented in other sports disciplines as Boxing, Swimming, Weightlifting, Judo and Netball at these games.
The post Commonwealth Games 2026: Uganda’s Nakaayi qualifies to semi-finals | 800M Women appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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