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, and, Running for the University of Texas, at El Paso, won the 1981 NCAA Cross Country Championships in 1981, defeating Mike Musyoki and Olympic silver medallist in the 5000 metres the year before, Suleiman Nyambui.

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.

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Date of birth	1958
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Date of death	2001
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