Fauja Singh, ‘world’s oldest marathoner’, dies in India road accident | Athletics News
The Indian-born British national became an international sensation after taking up distance running at the age of 89.
Fauja Singh, believed to be the world’s oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident in India at the age of 114, his biographer says.
Singh, an Indian-born British national nicknamed the “Turbaned Tornado”, was killed on Monday when he was hit by a vehicle in Punjab state’s Jalandhar district.
“My Turbaned Tornado is no more,” 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 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. He was inspired by seeing marathons on television.
He did not have a birth certificate, but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911. He ran full marathons (42km, or 26 miles) until the age of 100.
He ran his last race when he was 101. It was a 10km (6-mile) event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon, where he finished in an hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.
After his retirement from racing, Singh 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 any more”.
Although widely regarded as the world’s oldest marathon runner, Singh was not certified by Guinness World Records because he could not prove his age, saying birth certificates did not exist when he was born under British colonial rule.
Singh was a torchbearer for the Olympics in Athens in 2004 and London in 2012 and appeared in advertisements with sports stars such as David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Singh 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,” Modi said on X. “He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination.”