Matthews Motshwarateu

Matthews Motshwarateu (1958–2001) was a South African, track, cross country and road runner.

Nicknamed 'Loop en Val' (Afrikaans for 'walk and fall') for his awkward style, he set a world 10 km road record of 27:59.3 in Purchase, New York, in 1980. Running for the University of Texas at El Paso, he won the 1981 NCAA Cross Country Championship in 1981, defeating Mike Musyoki and Olympic silver medallist in the 5000 metres the year before, Suleiman Nyambui. He won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1992 African Championships.

He died in Soweto, outside Johannesburg, in 2001 from wounds sustained in a shooting outside his family home in Molapo, Soweto. The culprits have never been apprehended.

Motshwarateu competed for Botswana during the late 1980s as South Africans couldn't compete internationally.[1] He still holds national records in both Botswana[2] and South Africa.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Loop en Val's lonely long-distance career". Mail & Guardian. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department (2013). "IAAF Statistics Handbook Moscow 2013". International Association of Athletics Federations.
  3. ↑ "SOUTH AFRICAN RECORDS" (PDF). Athletics South Africa. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
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