'I told myself that if I don't win Two Oceans this year then I'm done with it' - Mosiako dominates Two Oceans 21km
Had Thabang Mosiako not crossed the finish line first at this morning's Totalsports Two Oceans Half Marathon then it may have been the very last time he ran his beloved race. That's because in six previous attempts, the Nedbank Running Club top runner failed to attain a podium finish let alone win the race despite clocking a best time of 1:03:58 in 2022 which was only good enough for fourth. Last year the man who is coached by Mike Mbambani was fourth again which was a particularly frustrating result because he briefly led the race after throwing in surge after punishing surge only to get run out of the top three with less than 3km to go as Mbuleli Mathanga won it.
But that all changed today. The 29-year-old who first ran the Two Oceans Half Marathon back in 2015, pulled away from his Nedbank teammates George Kushe, Wellington Varevi and Maxed Elite's Jobo Khatoane just after the 9km mark and never looked back. "I've been running two Oceans for so long. This was my seventh time, so this was very personal for me. I told myself that if I don't win Two Oceans this year then I'm done with Two Oceans," he laughed as he addressed the media during the post-race press conference.
Having been part of the chasing pack that caught early leader Kusche after 4km, Mosiako showed his maturity by delivering the telling surge at just the right time which meant that by the time he crested summit of Southern Cross Drive at 13km he was more than 100m clear of Kusche and could savour the last few kilometres as he took high fives, threw a few fists pumps and acknowledged supporters who had lined the route to get a piece of the action.
Although those celebrations may have robbed South Africa's second fastest half marathoner of all time of dipping below the course record of 1:02:54 set by Zimbabwe's Cuthbert Nyasango back in 2006, Mosiako says he was happy with his 1:04:40 clocking because today was all about wining the race - especially after finishing in fourth place last year and at last week's Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K.
"Last week was not a good day at the office. But that also motivated me to run well here because I wanted to fix what I did wrong last week. All that mattered to me was to get the win. I was over the moon. I was having fun today. I really enjoyed the race. I'm really excited about my running career at the moment. Everything is going so smoothly. I'm enjoying it," said the man who enjoyed a magical 2023 season during which he became the first South African man to run three 27-minute 10km's in one calendar year.
Mosiako ended up winning by almost a minute from Maxed Elite's Kamohelo Mofolo (1:05:33) who out-sprinted Kusche (1:05:33) and dipped on the line to steal second place in a photo finish. In the women's race, fresh from setting a national 10km record, Lesotho's Mokulubete Makatisi underlined her excellent current form when she won in 1:13:52. Hollywood Athletic Club's Cian Oldknow was the runner-up (1:14:04), while trail-runner Bianca Tarboton took third (1:19:27).