Coach and athlete target Olympic and world championship glory in new distance

With Glenrose Xaba becoming the first athlete to win the Spar Women’s Challenge 10km Grand Prix series four times, her coach Caster Semenya has challenged her to remain consistent and translate that form to marathons next year.

Xaba has already revealed that she will not be putting all her focus on the Grand Prix series as she shifts focus to the marathon, where she plans to dominate as well.

Winning four times doesn’t stop; we need more titles and to run great in the majors, do well in championships and Olympics [which] are the big fishes to catch now

—  Caster Semenya, running coach

Semenya, who played a role in Xaba’s rise in the short distance, said they want to do the same in the marathon.

“It feels fantastic; I mean it’s one of those things when you are a coach, you always dream that whoever is under your wing [will] follow through your steps, which she has proven,” Semenya told the media after the Grand Prix series awards in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

“She is under the right guidance and now it is up to her what she wants to do with her future. We’ve done well as coaches now. I think it’s about her to be consistent and hungry to win more.

“As much as now she is stepping towards higher heights into the marathons, we wanted to do exactly the same thing she has done here.

“Winning four times doesn’t stop; we need more titles and to run great in the majors, do well in championships and Olympics [which] are the big fishes to catch now. Try to put pressure on her in terms of the right decision-making and remain a great athlete.”

Xaba will travel to Hong Kong on Wednesday, where she will be running a Macao Bridge Half Marathon on Sunday as part of her preparations for the Cape Town Marathon in May next year.

Semenya said she needs to be exposed to more international competitions now.

“We want to go out there to experience what other people are feeling outside,” she said.

“It’s about moving from the comfort zone to uncomfortable spaces, which I think was the right move to make.”

Meanwhile, Xaba said the main goal now is to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 and the next World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China next year.

“I will still do some of the races but not all of them since I’m going to do the Cape Town Marathon. So, it will take time to recover for other races because now I’m on a stage where I need to race more internationals so I can get that confidence and be able to be competitive,” Xaba said.