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The Turbaned Torpedo, an Indian-born runner who was thought to be the oldest marathon runner in history, died after being struck by a car. The marathoner, whose real name is Fauja Singh, was 114.
According to local media in India, Singh sustained severe head injuries in a hit-and-run accident on Monday while crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab.
He was taken to the hospital, where he later died, his London-based running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, said.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Singh, saying he 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 said. “Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.”
In 2011, at the age of 100, Singh became the oldest man to complete a full marathon in Toronto, but the Guinness World Records did not recognise his achievement since he lacked a birth certificate to verify his age.
With a British passport that showed his date of birth as April 1, 1911, a letter from Indian government officials showed that birth records were not kept in 1911, throwing Singh’s real age into doubt.
Took up running to get over wife’s death
Singh took up running at the age of 89 as a way to get over depression after his wife and son died in quick succession in India. The death in 1994 of his son took a particularly hard toll on him due to its grisly nature.
Singh and his son, Kuldip, both farmers, were checking on their fields in the middle of a storm when a piece of corrugated metal blown by the wind decapitated Kuldip in front of his father’s eyes.
A torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics, the British-Indian marathoner completed his first London Marathon in 2000 at the age of 89 and went on to do eight more. At the 2003 Toronto Marathon, he set a personal best time of five hours and forty minutes.
“From a tragedy has come a lot of success and happiness,” Singh said.
Singh ran his last competitive race in 2013 at the age of 101, finishing the Hong Kong Marathon’s 10-kilometre (6.25-mile) race in 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 28 seconds.
Following his retirement from racing, he 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 anymore.”
