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As somebody who absolutely despises running for the sake of running, the idea of running a marathon seems absolutely absurd on its face. But for Indian marathoner Fauja Singh, not only was it something normal, it was part of his identity.
Singh became the oldest marathoner in history in 2011 when he completed the Toronto marathon at 100 years old. Sadly, Singh passed away this week at the age of 114 when he was hit by a car in his native India.
Singh, nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo, reportedly suffered severe head injuries in a hit-and-run accident Monday while he was crossing the road in his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
While Singh is widely recognized as the world’s oldest marathoner, he’s not officially in the Guinness Book of 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. But a letter from Indian government officials stated that birth records were not kept in 1911.
Fauja Singh’s Marathon Running Story Is One Of Great Bravery And Perserverance
Despite that fact, Singh was revered in both the distance running world and Indian culture.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that 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.”
“He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination,” Modi continued. “Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.”
Singh was not always a runner. In fact, he didn’t pick up the sport until late in his life after the personal tragedy of losing both his wife and son in a short span.
“I needed something to distract myself,” he told ESPN Magazine several years back.
He ran his first marathon at the age of 89 after leaving India for London and seeing a race on TV. He never did stop. Sadly, Singh has now run his final race. But he will go down in history as a legend of both running and Indian sporting culture.