‘World's oldest marathon runner' dies aged 114 in road accident
Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the 'Turbaned Tornado,' died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday.
'My Turbaned Tornado is no more,' Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X.
'He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja.'
Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.
He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100.
His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.
He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television.
Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011.
Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.
His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet 'laddu' packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media.
'Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness,' said Modi on X
'He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.'
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Al Arabiya
18 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
World's oldest marathon runner, Fauja Singh, dies at 114 after being hit by a car
Fauja Singh, an Indian-born runner nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo, who was believed to be the world's oldest marathon runner, has died after being hit by a car. He was 114. Local media in India reported that Singh sustained severe head injuries in a hit-and-run accident on Monday while he was crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. His London-based running club and charity Sikhs In The City confirmed his death. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Singh, saying he was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness. Singh became the oldest man to run a full marathon in 2011 at the age of 100 in Toronto. His accomplishment was not recognized by Guinness World Records because he did not have a birth certificate to prove his age. Singh had a British passport that showed his date of birth as April 1, 1911, while a letter from Indian government officials stated that birth records were not kept in 1911. A torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics, Singh took up running at the age of 89 as a way to get over depression after his wife and son died in quick succession in India. The death in 1994 of his son took a particularly hard toll on him because of its grisly nature. Singh and his son Kuldip, both farmers, were checking on their fields in the middle of a storm when a piece of corrugated metal blown by the wind decapitated Kuldip in front of his father's eyes. Singh, whose five other children had emigrated, was left all alone. 'He didn't think his life was worth living without his son' following the traumatic incident, his coach Harmander Singh said. He went to live with his youngest son in London. That's where sports enthusiast Singh attended tournaments organized by the Sikh community and took part in sprints. He met some Sikh marathon runners who encouraged him to take up long-distance running. One day he saw a marathon on television for the first time and decided that's what he wanted to do. At the age of 89 in 2000, he ran the London Marathon, his first, and went on to do eight more. His best time was 5 hours and 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Marathon. 'From a tragedy has come a lot of success and happiness,' Singh said. Singh ran his last competitive race in 2013 at the age of 101, finishing the Hong Kong Marathon's 10-kilometer (6.25-mile) race in 1 hour 32 minutes 28 seconds. Following his retirement from racing, he said he hoped 'people will remember me and not forget me.' He also wanted people 'to continue to invite him to events rather than forget me altogether just because I don't run anymore.' 'He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination,' Modi said. 'Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.'
Arab News
19 hours ago
- Arab News
‘World's oldest marathon runner' dies aged 114 in road accident
NEW DELHI: India's Fauja Singh, believed to be the world's oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said Tuesday. Singh, an Indian-born British national, nicknamed the 'Turbaned Tornado,' died after being hit by a vehicle in Punjab state's Jalandhar district on Monday. 'My Turbaned Tornado is no more,' Fauja's biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on X. 'He was struck by an unidentified vehicle... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja.' Singh did not have a birth certificate but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911. He ran full marathons (42 kilometer) till the age of 100. His last race was a 10-kilometer (six-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when 101, where he finished in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds. He became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the ripe old age of 89, after the death of his wife and one of his sons, inspired by seeing marathons on television. Although widely regarded as the world's oldest marathon runner, he was not certified by Guinness World Records as he could not prove his age, saying that birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule in 2011. Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics at Athens 2004 and London 2012, and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali. His strength and vitality were credited to a routine of farm walks and a diet including Indian sweet 'laddu' packed with dry fruits and home-churned curd. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute on social media. 'Fauja Singh was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness,' said Modi on X 'He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.'
Saudi Gazette
20 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
World's 'oldest' marathon runner dies at 114 in hit-and-run
DELHI — Fauja Singh, a British-Indian man believed to be the world's oldest marathon runner, has died after being hit by a car in India at the age of 114. Police say Singh was crossing a road in the village where he was born in Punjab when an unidentified vehicle hit him. Locals took him to hospital, where he died. Singh, a global icon, set records by running marathons across multiple age categories, including when he was over 100. He began running at 89 and ran nine full marathons between 2000 and 2013, when he retired. His running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, said its upcoming events in Ilford, east London, where he had lived since 1992, would be a celebration of his life and achievements. The hit and run happened on Monday as the centenarian was walking in his birth village, Beas Pind, near Jalandhar. "A search is under way, and the accused will be caught soon," said Harvinder Singh, a top district police news of the death broke, tributes poured Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him an "exceptional athlete with incredible determination".Harmander Singh, Fauja Singh's coach at Sikhs In The City, confirmed his death in a statement posted to the running statement said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm our icon of humanity and powerhouse of positivity Fauja Singh has passed away in India."His running club and charity Sikhs In The City will be devoting all of its events until the Fauja Singh Birthday Challenge on Sunday 29 March 2026 to celebrate his life of success and achievements."We will be doubling the efforts to raise funds to building the Fauja Singh Clubhouse on the route in Ilford where he used to train."When the BBC met Singh in June in Beas Pind, he was agile and active, walking several miles every day."I still go for walks around the village to keep my legs strong. A person has to take care of his own body," he said.A torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics, Singh clocked several milestones during his running career, including reportedly becoming the first centenarian to complete a full marathon in 2011 in his claim of being the world's oldest marathon runner was not recognised by Guinness World Records as he could not show a birth certificate from 1911. The BBC reported at the time that Singh's British passport showed his date of birth as being 1 April 1911, and that he had a letter from the Queen congratulating him on his 100th trainer, Harmander Singh, said that birth certificates were not made in India at the time Singh was World Records officials said they would have loved "to give him the record", but that they could only "accept official birth documents created in the year of the birth".As a young boy growing up in Punjab, Singh was teased by people in his village as his legs were weak and he could not walk properly until the age of five."But the same boy, once mocked for his weakness, went on to make history," he told BBC Punjabi in he turned 40, Singh, a farmer, had lived through the turbulence of both the World Wars and experienced the trauma of Partition."In my youth, I didn't even know the word 'marathon' existed," Singh told BBC Punjabi. "I never went to school, nor was I involved in any kind of sports. I was a farmer and spent most of my life in the fields."He first took to running to cope with the death of his wife Gian Kaur in the early 1990s, he moved to London to live with his eldest son Sukhjinder. But during a visit to India, he witnessed his younger son Kuldeep's death in an accident which left him by grief, Singh would spend hours sitting near the spot where his son had been cremated. Concerned villagers advised his family to take him back to the in Ilford in London, during one of his visits to the gurdwara, Singh met a group of elderly men who would go on runs together. He also met Harmander Singh, who would go on to become his coach."Had I not met Harmander Singh, I wouldn't have got into marathon running," he said in made his debut at the London Marathon in 2000, a month shy of turning 89. He participated through a Golden Bond entry - a system where charities pre-purchase a fixed number of spots for a fee. He chose to run for BLISS, a charity that supports premature infants. His tagline: "Oldest running for the youngest! May they live as long as him."Singh says that before the run, he was told by event officials that he could only wear a patka (headgear worn by many Sikh boys and men) and not a turban."I refused to run without my turban. Eventually, the organisers allowed me to run with it, and for me, that's my biggest achievement," he finished the race in six hours and 54 minutes, marking the beginning of a remarkable his third successive appearance at the London marathon, he had shaved off nine minutes from his previous 2003, at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, he bettered his timing by an astonishing one hour and five minutes, completing the race in five hours and 40 minutes."I don't remember my timings; it is my coach, Harmander Singh, who keeps the record of all my timings. But whatever I have achieved is all because of his training, and I sincerely followed his schedule," Singh said in June."In London, he used to make me run uphill, and because of that, I kept on improving," he added. "Almost after every training session in London, I used to go to the gurdwara, where my diet was taken care of. Everyone there motivated me to run long distances."Singh shot to international fame in 2003 when Adidas signed him for their Nothing Is Impossible advertising campaign which also featured legends such as Muhammad 2005, he was invited by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan to participate in the inaugural Lahore Marathon. A year later, in 2006, he received a special invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to visit Buckingham the many mementos and certificates displayed at Singh's home in Punjab is a framed photograph of him with the continued to compete in marathons well into his 100s and earned the nickname "Turbaned Tornado". Most of his earnings from endorsements went directly to charitable foundations."I was the same Fauja Singh before I entered the world of running - but running gave my life a mission and brought me global recognition," he 2013, he participated in his last long-distance competitive race in Hong Kong, completing a 10km run in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 credited his health and longevity to a simple lifestyle and disciplined diet."Eating less, running more, and staying happy - that is the secret behind my longevity. This is my message to everyone," he said in his final years, Singh divided his time between India, where his younger son lives, and the the BBC met him in June, he was hoping to visit London again soon to meet his family and MP Preet Kaur Gill shared a photo of herself with him on X, writing: "A truly inspiring man. His discipline, simple living, and deep humility left a lasting mark on me."Jas Athwal MP said Singh "inspired millions across the world". He wrote on X: "His spirit and legacy of resilience will run on forever." — BBC
