As a youngster, Mosiako was spotted whilst still in school by Nedbank running club development coach Pio Mpolokeng, himself a former elite runner who had won the prestigious Dublin marathon. “I could see that this young boy had a lot of talent and that he was hungry to be one of the best,” said Mpolokeng. Through the Nedbank running club development initiative, Mosiako was put through school via the club and finished his matric before moving on to the North West University. In 2017 Mosiako picked up his first national senior title on the track when he won the 5000m at the South African Championships in Potchefstroom. That year he also represented South Africa at the World Cross Country Championships in Uganda where he finished 47th in the senior men’s 12km. 

An unfortunate assault incident in 2018 where Mosiako was attacked on campus and knocked unconscious saw the youngster take some time out of the sport, but upon return, numerous injuries kept plaguing him and he couldn’t get back to the level he was before. “I sat there frustrated at home not knowing what to do,” recalls Mosiako. It was a call from Michael Mbambani in Gqeberha that kept playing in his mind. “Coach Mike told me that I can get back to where I was and be even better and that I should come and live and train with his group in Gqeberha,” said Mosiako. “I kept thinking about it but when it came to the festive season period, I told my wife let’s make the move and now as you can see, the rest is history.”

It was a move that has certainly paid dividends. This year, Mosiako ran a huge pb of 27:52 over 10km on the roads in April before he then picked up another national title when he won the Mandela Bay Half Marathon which incorporated the South African championships in a world class time of 1:00:29. This effort selected him for a national team call up at the World Half Marathon Championships. “With coach Mike, we agreed that I stick to the guys for as long as God allows me to, but I must also run clever and we were targeting 59:59 because we wanted a sub 1 hour,” said Mosiako. “To finish in 59:52 was a new personal best and for our team to get a world championships medal means so much,” Mosiako said with a smile which has since not left his face. “I must really thank my coach Michael Mbambani, Ikhamva Group and our training partners and Nedbank running club and our sponsors because without them none of this would have been possible.” 

“Thabang has shown that hard work and commitment can take you to the top of the world in the sport and we are also proud that Thabang has risen through the ranks through our development initiatives at the Nedbank running club,” said Nedbank running club national team manager Nick Bester. “We have development teams across the country and our coaches work tirelessly day in and day out to create the future stars, and I can say that the future of South African running is definitely bright!”