THABANG Mosiako is back! And he is looking to end a year that was somewhat soured by a much-publicised fight with his former coach with a bang.
The hugely talented Nedbank Running Club athlete finished a very close second in the inaugural Hollywoodbets Joburg 10K in Melrose on Saturday, losing out to Kenyan Vincent Kipkorir by a second. He beat Boxer Athletic Club’s Chris Mhlanga in a sprint finish that saw both runners credited with the same time of 29:52 on the pretty tough course.
Speaking afterwards Mosiako thanked his supporters for standing by him during a difficult period that saw him being painted as an ill-disciplined athlete by his former coach Mike Mbambani. Mosiako and a few of his teammates were kicked out of the renowned coach’s Ikamva camp in Gqeberha a couple of months ago for having broken the rules in varying ways. But the athlete retorted by denying the claims by his former coach.
The 29-year-old moved to dispel any thoughts that the fall out with Mbambani would have derailed him with a compellingly good run on the hilly course that made fast times near impossible. The twinkle in his eye afterwards was evidence of his delight.
“I am happy with my results,” he said at the finish line. “I think I am getting there, I can see the way forward. The key, maybe, will be for me to stick with the consistency and discipline that I have now and things will work out.”
He felt he got a lot out of the race which will stand him in good stead for what would be his full marathon debut at the Abu Dhabi Marathon next month.
“This was part of racing and I gained some hill reps (repeats) from it. Remember at the (pre-race) press conference I said if there’s an opportunity I will take it. And I did right there at the finish because I saw a chance to test my speed. I am not closing the year yet. I am going to run the Abu Dhabi Marathon in December. But I want to thank all South Africans for supporting me and I just want you guys to know that Thabang Mosiako is back.”
The ‘fall-out’ with his former coach notwithstanding, Mosiako had a fairly good 2024 in which he won the TotalSports Two Oceans half marathon title and competed admirably in an attempt to hold on to his national half marathon title, finishing fifth after gallantly trying to run the legs out of eventual winner Elroy Gelant. He also had some good runs in the Absa RUNYOURCITYSERES – finishing third in Durban and fourth in Gqeberha.
Still without a coach and training by himself, it will be interesting to see how he does at the Abu Dhabi Marathon next month. There can be no denying though that he has the talent to become one of the top runners in the country.
Meanwhile the women's race at the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10K was also won by a Kenyan, Fridah Ndinda beating Lesotho’s Neheng Khatala to second place while South Africa’s Karabo More took the bronze medal position.