The 60-year-old Temane was an athlete ahead of his time. One will never forget the unofficial World record that he ran in Eat London in 1987 in the South African Half Marathon championships. The world record at the time belonged to Kenyan Michael Musyoki with a time of 60:43. Together with the late Zithulele Sinqe, the duo raced head to head at the front of the field before coming down to a sprint finish. Temane pipped Sinqe on the line although both were given the same time of 60:11 which obliterated the World record. Due to South Africa being in isolation, the record could not count. 

His career was characterized by his versatility of different distances, which included a 3:55.4 mile at altitude. Temane ended his career with over 17 national titles that included track, cross country and road. He now joins the Nedbank running club development team situated in Klerksdorp where he will assist former Dublin Marathon winner Pio Mpolokeng with the nurturing of South Africa’s future stars. 

“It is great that an icon such as Temane has joined forces with the Nedbank running club,” said Nedbank running club national team manager Nick Bester. “His performances speak for themselves and he really was an athlete who was ahead of his time. With his knowledge of the sport, he will instill positivity and knowledge into our development athletes, and we are excited to see it make a difference.” 

The Nedbank running club welcomes Matthew Temane into the green team and look forward to seeing the continued development of South Africa’s talented youngsters.