'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 kilometre) till the age of 100.
His last race was a 10-kilometre (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."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Alexandra Burke wants two more children
Alexandra Burke would love two more children. The 36-year-old star already has two young children - whose names have not been made public - with her footballer fiancé Darren Randolph, and although she is not ready to add to her brood right now, she would love to have more babies in the future. Alexandra - who has been engaged to the sportsman since September 2024 - told The Mirror: "I'm going to do [the] London [Marathon] next year and, by the grace of God, New York. And then think about more children. I'm desperate for more – we'd love four – but we're good with whatever the universe gives us because we're very lucky to even have two. 'We'd love to try, but just not right now… we're fitness freaks at the minute. I'm loving work and enjoying just being a mum and an actress.' The former X Factor star's Soul II Soul singer mother, Melissa Bell, died from kidney failure, at the age of 53, in 2017. And, Alexandra says the most important thing is being "healthy and strong for my kids". She said: 'I've always been in the fitness mindset. As long as I can be healthy and strong for my kids, nothing else matters. I feel your health is your wealth and you've just got to take care of stuff as much as you can. We live in a world where you hear about so much negativity. If there's one thing we all can control, it's what we put in our bodies, how much we move our bodies, create great endorphins and just try and find happiness in every thing that we try and do.' As well as marathons, Alexandra is training to do the popular Hyrox endurance test - which is 50 per cent running - with her partner. She said: 'Darren's an athlete… know what I mean? I've got to keep up with him. He pushes me and goes, 'Alex, come on… you're the one that's always optimistic, positive. You're having a bit of a low day today, but we'll just go out for a run together'.' On the topic of weight-loss injections, she said: 'It's your body, your choice. But my choice is to make sure my a*** is in that gym and I'm running.'


7NEWS
3 days ago
- 7NEWS
Veteran golf champion Marc Leishman last Aussie standing at British Open
And then there was one ... Australia's dwindling hopes of British Open success at Royal Portrush lie solely in the hands of a sleep-deprived Marc Leishman after a wretched day for the gold 'n green challenge on the Dunluce links. The experienced 'Big Leish' was the only Aussie out of a starting field of nine to make the cut on Friday, with former champion Cam Smith and 25-time Open veteran Adam Scott suffering particularly disheartening days. Leishman was let off the leash after being frustrated by the slow pace of play on the opening day -- and the result was by far the best round from any of the battalion as he shot a three-under 68 to make the weekend on one under, the only Aussie all week to be in the red. With the cut having looked set to be at two over, Jason Day, runner-up two years ago, had dug deep to conjure a birdie on the penultimate hole, with a booming drive and 90ft chip stone-dead, to get to what he hoped would be the required mark. But, alas, the Queensland ace was left missing the boat on two over by just a shot as late afternoon conditions improved. Poor old Day must have still been harbouring hope at nearly 9.30 at night when the cut-line was finally established at one over. Leishman, the lone survivor, has his work cut out, nine shots behind inspired leader Scottie Scheffler, but at least he enjoyed a much more fulfilling day - one that started at 4am before he was the first to tee off at 6.35am - than the one he endured on Thursday. The 41-year-old Victorian had bemoaned the interminable first round, complaining he felt like he'd been out there 'for about 12 hours' amid constant snarl-ups through slow play. But freed up among Friday's very first group out, the LIV Golf veteran, two-over-par overnight, enjoyed five birdies in the first dozen holes to move momentarily to within a shot of the early lead. Two bogeys at the next two holes, including a horrid shank off the tee at 13, checked his magisterial progress but a decade on from his 2015 St Andrews near-miss when beaten in a play-off, Leishman, three times an Open top-10 finisher, was able to come through with a smile. 'I was obviously pretty frustrated last night when I came in here,' he told reporters, apologetically. 'I always say to my wife, 'if I've had a bad day on the course, just give me 10 minutes, and I'll be good' ... I think you got me about the eight-minute mark!' Having got up at 4am - 'I set the alarm as late as possible, I love my sleep,' he sighed - Leishman spent the rest of Friday post-round watching his rivals' travails on TV. 'l'll probably have a pint or two of Guinness and enjoy my afternoon,' he had noted. There was nothing enjoyable for Scott out there, though, on his 25th consecutive British Open and 97th straight major appearance. Having started out as joint-leading Aussie alongside Smith, after their first-round 72s, Scott had been hoping to celebrate his eve-of-tournament 45th birthday with another stirring crack at the Claret Jug. But he had the most miserable day, making three double-bogeys at the short third, the par-four 11th where he drove into the bushes, and the par-three 16th, before a bogey at the last left him with a 79 - his worst round at the British Open since his 82 at Royal St George's 22 years ago - and a tournament total of nine over. Smith fared little better, the 2022 champion shooting a 78, coughing up six bogeys and a double, with his lone birdie coming at the 17th as he ended on eight over. Min Woo Lee (73, five over for the championships), Lucas Herbert (72, four over), Curtis Luck (70, eight over) and Ryan Peake (73, eight over) didn't make it either, while early starter Elvis Smylie (70, three over) had a long fruitless wait, hoping the fairly mild weather might worsen to allow him to scrape in.

News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Indian state blames cricket team for deadly stampede
State authorities blamed the management of India's Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team for last month's deadly stampede during celebrations for their first IPL title. Eleven fans were crushed to death and more than 50 wounded in a stampede near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after hundreds of thousands packed the streets in the southern city of Bengaluru on June 4, to welcome home their hero Virat Kohli and his RCB cricket team. Karnataka state authorities singled out the RCB, its partners and the state cricket association for their mismanagement of the event in a report made public on Thursday. It said organisers had not submitted a "formal request" or provided enough detail for permission to be granted for the celebrations. "Consequently, the permission was not granted," it said. The team went ahead with its victory parade despite police rejecting RCB's request, according to the report. AFP has been unable to contact RCB for comment. Four people, including a senior executive at RCB, representatives of event organisers DNA and Karnataka State Cricket Association, were detained by police in the days following the stampede. Players were parading the trophy near the stadium a day after their win over Punjab Kings in the final in Ahmedabad when the stampede occurred. The dead were aged between 14 and 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it "absolutely heartrending" and Kohli, who top-scored in the final, was "at a loss for words" after it unfolded. India coach Gautam Gambhir said he was never a fan of roadshows, and the authorities should not have allowed the mass celebrations if they weren't prepared.