Fauja Singh, world’s oldest marathoner, dies aged 114.
Fauja Singh, the iconic marathon runner whose career defied age and inspired generations, has died at the age of 114 after being hit by an unidentified vehicle in a hit-and-run incident in Punjab.
The accident reportedly took place around 3:30 p.m. as Singh was crossing the Adampur–Bhogpur road near his native village of Beas in the Jalandhar district.
Fauja Singh was taken to a private hospital in Jalandhar but succumbed to his injuries later that evening.
Authorities said an FIR has been registered against the unknown driver. No arrests had been reported by the time of publication.
Born on 1 April 1911 in Beas, Singh was the youngest of four siblings.
He emigrated to East London in 1992 following the death of his wife, Gian Kaur.
After the loss of his son Kuldeep Singh in 1994, he took up running to cope with his grief, a decision that would lead to an extraordinary late-life athletic journey.
Singh began formal training in the UK with coach Harmander Singh and entered professional races from the age of 89.
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.
