Charl Mattheus

Charl Mattheus is a South African ultramarathon runner born in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, in 1965 and raised in Despatch. He is known for the Comrades Marathon, which he finished twelve times between 1987 and 2000. He crossed the line first in 1992 but was disqualified after taking a cold medicine containing the then prohibited phenylpropanolamine, a substance later dropped from the banned list. He regained the title in 1997 in 5:28:37, which makes him the only athlete to lose a Comrades championship and win it back. Mattheus later studied in the United States, earning a business administration doctorate in healthcare management and writing a book on the US health care system, and he holds dual South African and American citizenship.