Just as the phrase “Dynamite comes in small packages” goes, Karabo Mailula may be young and diminutive, but she possesses immense power on the road and is slowly but surely becoming a fierce competitor whom many South Africans should look out for.
Mailula, who is an SA middle-distance road runner, is currently running under Pretoria University, better known as Tuks, with coaching staff Violet and
Caster Semenya in her corner.
She trains with the likes of Karabo More, Karabo Motsoeneng, and national 10km record holder Glenrose “Supercharge” Xaba.
Mailula grew confident and attacked the course like never before this year, kicking off her 2025 campaign like there is no tomorrow.
The 23-year-old secured some podium finishes, but one that probably stood out for her was winning the Absa Run Your City, which was her maiden victory in her debut appearance.
Another race in which Mailula impressed and showed immense improvement in was the Spar Women’s Grand Prix Series, where she missed by one point to finish third in the overall standings.
“I am so happy to have claimed position four because I was planning to improve from last year, where I finished number six, so I am happy because I worked very hard.
“What else can I say? My season went great,” Mailula told Sunday World at the Spar Grand Prix Awards, held in Midrand last week.
“This is exactly how I imagined my season to end… by performing well and recording my PBs [personal bests]. So, I did extremely well, because I was planning to get into the top three, but missed out on the spot by a point.
“So, things went as planned, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be here [at the awards] and participate in all the races this year. I wish other kids, especially ladies out there from where I come from, would draw inspiration from what I have achieved.”
Mailula clinched her maiden victory in her debut appearance in the Absa Run Your City, when she crossed the finish line with a time of 33:34 in the women’s race.
The Tuks fell short behind the two Ethiopian runners, Diniya Abaraya and Salem Gebre, who came second and third, respectively, with Xaba walking out as the mega winner – walking away with half a million rands for bonus points and winning all five 10km road races in Cape Town, Durban, Tshwane, Gqeberha, and Johannesburg.
Mailula’s exploits in the Spar Women’s 10km Grand Prix Series earned her R50 000 as well as R70 000 for being the second most successful South African runner.
With the season now close to concluding, the Soshanguve-born starlet will now focus on her upcoming graduation for her course in Education at Tuks in May next year.
