Matthews Motshwarateu (1958–2001) was a South African track, cross country, and road runner.
In 1978 Matthews Motshwarateu won the South African 5000m championship, setting a new South African record for the event. He retained his title the following year.
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, defeating teammates; future Olympic bronze medalist Mike Musyoki and reigning 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. He still holds national records in both Botswana and South Africa.
References
- R30 costs legend his life
- "Loop en Val's lonely long-distance career". Mail & Guardian. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- Butler, Mark; IAAF Media & Public Relations Department (2013). "IAAF Statistics Handbook Moscow 2013". International Association of Athletics Federations.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "SOUTH AFRICAN RECORDS" (PDF). Athletics South Africa. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
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- South African male long-distance runners
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- Sportspeople from Soweto
- Athletes from Gauteng
- University of Texas at El Paso alumni
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