India’s Fauja Singh, believed to be the world’s oldest distance runner, has died in a road accident aged 114, his biographer said yesterday.
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 Singh’s biographer Khushwant Singh wrote on social media. “He was struck by an unidentified vehicle ... in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja.”
Photo: AFP
Fauja Singh did not have a birth certificate, but his family said he was born on April 1, 1911.
He ran full marathons until the age of 100. His last race was a 10km event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon when he was 101, where he finished in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 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 TV.
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 1911.
Fauja 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,” Modi said.
“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,” he said.
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