Thato Mosehle says seeing her mother Lesego sitting in the crowd while competing at the 12th Miss Supranational in Poland is what kept her pushing till top 3.
The 26-year-old medical doctor from Stilfontein in North West told Sowetan that together with Chanique Rabe from Namibia, who won the crown, they did it for Africa.
Mosehle was named Miss SA runner-up last year when Shudufhadzo Musiḓa won.
Her mother joined by CEO of the Miss SA organisation, Stephanie Weil, and creative director Werner Wessels, supported Mosehle as she represented the county on Saturday night in the Polish city of Nowy Sącz.
“I feel incredibly proud for placing second runner-up and the first time South Africa places that high. I’m proud of myself and what I gave done for my country,” Mosehle told Sowetan on Sunday as she was getting ready to travel back home.
“I’m very happy with my overall performance because we trained a lot with the Miss SA organisation to make sure I deal with certain insecurities I had with my walk, poses and energy.
“I focused on showing my personality on stage and what made it special was that I saw my mom, Werner and Stephanie sitting in the crowd. When I felt anxious and stressed out I looked at them, they will smile at me and wave.”
Weil added: “Thato shone on the international stage and we are incredibly proud of her and her achievement in making it to the top 3.”
Mosehle also congratulated Rabe for securing a win for Africa.
Mom's presence pushes Mosehle to third spot in Poland
Medic shines in Miss Supranational
Thato Mosehle says seeing her mother Lesego sitting in the crowd while competing at the 12th Miss Supranational in Poland is what kept her pushing till top 3.
The 26-year-old medical doctor from Stilfontein in North West told Sowetan that together with Chanique Rabe from Namibia, who won the crown, they did it for Africa.
Mosehle was named Miss SA runner-up last year when Shudufhadzo Musiḓa won.
Her mother joined by CEO of the Miss SA organisation, Stephanie Weil, and creative director Werner Wessels, supported Mosehle as she represented the county on Saturday night in the Polish city of Nowy Sącz.
“I feel incredibly proud for placing second runner-up and the first time South Africa places that high. I’m proud of myself and what I gave done for my country,” Mosehle told Sowetan on Sunday as she was getting ready to travel back home.
“I’m very happy with my overall performance because we trained a lot with the Miss SA organisation to make sure I deal with certain insecurities I had with my walk, poses and energy.
“I focused on showing my personality on stage and what made it special was that I saw my mom, Werner and Stephanie sitting in the crowd. When I felt anxious and stressed out I looked at them, they will smile at me and wave.”
Weil added: “Thato shone on the international stage and we are incredibly proud of her and her achievement in making it to the top 3.”
Mosehle also congratulated Rabe for securing a win for Africa.
“She did it for Africa. It was the first time in the history of Miss Supranational that Africa won the crown,” Mosehle said.
“That was the goal for this year and we achieved it. The other women from the continent in the competition, we were all cheering for her because she did it for all of us.”
Mosehle is also the first participant from Miss SA to compete at Miss Supranational.
Mosehle completed her medicine degree from the University of the Free State in 2018. In March, she completed her internship at the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp, where she was a frontline worker during the pandemic.
“I will advice the next contestant to enjoy themselves and know what she wants with the brand that is Miss Supranational,” Mosehle said.
“It can really open many doors and I was only second runner-up, but I already had conversation with people who wanted to know more about my ground-up project.
“Miss Supranational is rooted in the project you want to do from the ground-up. Don’t just aspire to the crown, but have dreams beyond that.”