Who Was Fauja Singh? World's Oldest Marathon Runner Who Died at 114 in a Road Accident

As we grow older, we are expected to take it easy. But there are exceptions to the rule, especially in the world of marathon runners. Time and again we have seen runners in their 80s and 90s defy age and give it a go. They truly are an inspiration. But when it comes to age, nobody did it better than the man who was the oldest marathon runner in the world. Yes, we are talking about the one and only Fauja Singh. He was 114 years old.

Fauja passed away on July 14 after he was hit by a car on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway and rushed to the hospital with a serious head injury. But he breathed his last there. The world sports fraternity mourned the passing away of a legend who had set new barriers for marathon runners.

© X/Team India

Who Was Fauja Singh?

He was known as the 'Turbaned Tornado'. Fauja was born on April 1, 1911 in Beyas village, Jalandhar, Punjab. The man was born before World War I began and he saw a lot of history with his own eyes. His darkest moment was when India was partitioned in 1947. It was in 2000, when he was 89, that Fauja made his debut in the London Marathon. He had shifted there in the 1990s to live with one of his sons.

In 2004, Fauja was a torchbearer for the Athens Olympics and again in 2012 for the London Olympics. He was also in an ad for a huge sports brand with the likes of David Beckham and Muhammad Ali. In 2013, Fauja took part in the Hong Kong marathon and clocked 1 hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds. He then retired at 102. But he did continue to run to keep himself healthy and for causes related to charity.

© X/Team India

Tragic Backstory

The origin story behind why Fauja started running is pretty tragic. In 1994, one of his sons died in a construction accident. He began to run to cover his grief. The rest, as they say, is history. He set several records in his 90s and in 2011, his biography Turbaned Tornado was released in the House of Lords. At the age of 100, he set eight world age group records in a single day at the special Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational Meet, held at Birchmount Stadium in Toronto, Canada.

A Legend’s Legacy

Fauja’s legacy is of one who inspired others to follow their dream. He was a late bloomer who gave it his all to seal his place in history. It was a tragedy that took him down a path that proved to be his calling. He may be gone but he will never be forgotten.