World's oldest marathon runner killed crossing the road
Fauja Singh, who was 114 years old, was believed to be the world's oldest marathon runner, but he died on Monday afternoon while crossing the road in the village where he was born, a place called Beas Pind, in India.
Mr Singh, who lived in London, was part of a running club called 'Sikhs In The City' who have said all of their events up until the 'Fauja Singh Birthday Challenge' next March will be devoted to his name to celebrate his life of success and achievements. Fauja Singh in 2011. Pic: JeffThe Club is also making plans to build a clubhouse in his name on the running route in Ilford, where he used to train.
The 114-year-old who was nicknamed the 'Turbaned Tornado', ran a full marathon in Toronto, Canada, at the age of 100 and since then has run marathons in New York, and Mumbai, but his best time was recorded in Toronto in 2003, where he completed the marathon in five hours and 40 minutes.
The former farmer, who was born in 1911, only took up running in 1994, two years after moving to the UK, in an attempt to deal with the grief of losing one of his sons, but started to take running more seriously in 2000, completing the London Marathon in six hours and 54 minutes. Fauja Singh in 2011. Pic: JeffHe knocked 58 minutes off the previous world's best in the '90-plus' age bracket in the process.
In 2011, his 100th year, Fauja achieved eight world age-group records in a single day at the special Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational Meet, at Birchmount Stadium in Toronto, Canada.
Three days later, he became the first centenarian to finish a marathon, completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in eight hours, 11 minutes and six seconds. Fauja Singh in 2016. Pic: Keshav Singh/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
However, the Guinness Book of World Records did not recognise his amazing achievements because he was unable to produce his birth certificate to prove his age, as official birth records were not kept when he was born in India in 1911
But in 2012, he was chosen as a torchbearer for the Olympic Games, which were held in London.
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