It was not so long ago that Thabang Mosiako looked up to Stephen Mokoka and Elroy Gelant. Not that Mosiako has stopped admiring these South African running legends. Far from it. The Nedbank Running Club starlet continues to think the world of the Boxer Athletic Club superstars he grew up aspiring to emulate.
It is just that now he is “better” than them, the 28-year-old being the current South African half-marathon champion after his consummately easy victory in a time of 60min 29sec at the Nelson Mandela Bay Half-Marathon in June that incorporated the national champs. Mokoka finished fourth there, 26 seconds behind Mosiako, while Gelant crossed the line in 61:30 for seventh.
Ambitious an athlete as he always has been, top of the pile is not a position the Rustenburg-born father of two would have imagined himself in, at least not with these two legends still active. But such are the rewards for talented athletes who work hard on their trade and are disciplined, that Mosiako finds himself being South Africa's king of the 21.1km distance.
As the country prepares for an onslaught for glory at the World Half Marathon Championships in Riga, Latvia on October 1, Mosiako finds it hard to accept he is Team South Africa’s “main man”.
“I can’t believe I am in this team with these guys,” he said of being teammates with Mokoka and Gelant. Precious Mashele, another Boxer Athletic Club member, who finished third in Gqeberha in June, completes the four-man squad that is expected to challenge for a podium position.
“My inspiration and role model has always been Stephen and I like Elroy because we came from the same town,” said Mosiako, referring to Potchefstroom, where he went to live at about 10 years old and where he started to take his running seriously.
“He [Gelant] was always saying to me, ‘Young boy you are going to be living the dream’. The guy was motivating me and the other day I read an article in which he was saying, ‘We are now learning from Thabang Mosiako’. How crazy is that?”
Not so crazy if you look at how hard he has worked to get to where he is.
Though born in Rustenburg, Mosiako grew up in Taung — a small town in the south of the North West Province, close to the border with the Northern Cape, about 400km south west of Johannesburg — where he began running at primary school level. He showed great promise almost immediately.
Almost from the moment he began running seriously as a member of the Nedbank Running Club’s Potchefstroom branch under the guidance of coach Pio Mpolokeng, he also started representing the country in track and cross country events in the southern region where he earned podium finishes.
All those, however, are nothing compared to this latest feat that sees him going to his maiden world championships with the crown of South African champion on his head.
I get excited about training here in PE. It has really improved my running. I have improved my times in the 5,000m, the 10km and the half-marathon. The training group is doing amazing things, the motivation, the happiness and the support is incredible
— Thabang Mosiako
“Honestly, I am excited but I am also a bit nervous because it will be my first time, a new experience. Of course, I’ve watched the world champs in the past, when they went to Poland [2019] and Mokoka broke the South African half-marathon record. That race motivated me a lot.
“Stephen is a true role model to us, and it is so exciting to run with him. I’ve learnt so much since I started running against him from back in 2017 on the track and later on the road. And now to be in this national team with him, I know he will be guiding us and motivating us to run until the finish even if our legs feel like they are tired and cannot go any longer.”
The inspiration from Mokoka aside, Mosiako owes his development to his partnering with renowned Eastern Cape coach Michael Mbambani in Gqeberha.
“Training with bra Mike, yoh, yoh, I don’t know what to say. The man is a legend, we all know that. I get excited about training here in PE. It has really improved my running. I have improved my times in the 5,000m, the 10km and the half-marathon. The training group is doing amazing things, the motivation, the happiness and the support is incredible.”
Mosiako finished third at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km race a fortnight ago, with Gelant running in ahead of him in second place behind the on-form Kabelo Mulaudzi. He raced there to fine-tune for Riga and the results were pleasing, at least to him.
“I’m happy, it was a good run. Now it is just to put the finishing touches before we go to the world champs. I came here to check my speed and I am pleased with it,” he said of his 28:07 run.
Run anything like that for the first half of the world championships and Mosiako could well be en route to helping Team South Africa to a podium finish. And with racing alongside the men who inspired him sure to act like the wind beneath his wings, there’s every reason to believe Mosiako can make a memorable debut at the global event.
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