Charles Dewachtere

{{Short description|Belgian long-distance runner (1927–2020)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Charles Dewachtere

| image =

| caption =

| full_name = Charles Paul Dewachtere

| nationality = Belgian

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1927|12|22}}

| birth_place = Ghent, BelgiumKlooster Peter, Abebe Bikila en 20 andere mooie verhalen uit 20 jaar Runner's World, 15. Het noodlot als tegenstander Charles Dewachtere, uitgave De Arbeiderspers, 2014

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2020|07|22|1927|12|22}}

| death_place = Ghent, Belgium[https://www.atletiek.be/admin/storage/main/overlijdensbrief.jpg Overlijdensbrief], website VAL

| height =

| weight =

| sport = Long-distance running

| event = Marathon

| club =

}}

Charles Paul Dewachtere (22 December 1927 – 22 July 2020){{cite web |url=https://www.atletiek.be/nieuws/in-memoriam-olympier-charles-dewachtere |title=In Memoriam Olympiër Charles Dewachtere |trans-title=In Memoriam Olympian Charles Dewachtere |website=atletiek.be |language=nl |publisher=Vlaamse Atletiekliga |last=Jordens |first=Michel |date=24 July 2020}} was a Belgian long-distance runner. He competed in the marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/de/charles-dewachtere-1.html |title=Charles Dewachtere |access-date=2 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418062411/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/de/charles-dewachtere-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |quote=Full name: Charles Paul Dewachtere}} Dewachtere became twice Belgian champion.

In 1951 he became Belgian champion in a race over 35 km, between Waregem and Ghent. In 1952, the Belgian championship was held over the official marathon distance as qualification race for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Helped by the high pace of Jean Leblond, Dewachtere won the Belgian championship in a very fast time. Only two Englishmen ran a faster marathon at that time. Dewachtere was therefore one of the main favorites for the Games. However, due to a heel bone injury, he finished 18th. Winner Emil Zátopek was only four seconds faster than Dewachtere's time at the Belgian championships.

After the 1952 Summer Olympics, Dewachtere was unemployed. He got into an altercation soon after the games, for which he was sentenced to thirty months in prison, effectively ending his sporting career.{{Cite web |title=Olympedia – Charles Dewachtere |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/65183 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.olympedia.org}} He died on July 22, 2020, at the age of 92.