Man who became world’s oldest marathon runner at Toronto race dies in hit-and-run

A 114-year-old man who became the oldest man to run a full marathon at a 2011 Toronto event has died.

Fauja Singh, an Indian-born runner nicknamed the “Turbaned Torpedo” died Monday after being hit by a car while crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab.

Local media in India reported Singh sustained severe head injuries in the hit-and-run accident. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.

His London-based running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, confirmed his death, as did India’s prime minister Narendra Modi, who called him “extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness.”

Singh became the oldest man to run a full marathon in 2011 at the age of 100 in Toronto during the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon. His accomplishment was not recognized by Guinness 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, while a letter from Indian government officials stated that birth records were not kept in 1911.

Alan Brookes, race director with TCS, said in a post on LinkedIn Tuesday Singh helped transformed the event into a “global phenomenon.”

“Fauja was a wonderful human being. With him I think I visited every gurdwara in the GTA and I especially remember Baba ji’s talks to the youth groups where he spoke of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the secret of his ginger curry,” Brookes wrote.

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“This modest British/Punjabi Sikh farmer will always be remembered for the community hero and legend he was; the joy and celebration he bought to our community and the example he set for us all. Forever with us.”

A torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics, 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 because of 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.

Singh, whose five other children had emigrated, was left all alone.

“He didn’t think his life was worth living without his son” following the traumatic incident, his coach Harmander Singh said.

He went to live with his youngest son in London. That’s where sports enthusiast Singh attended tournaments organized by the Sikh community and took part in sprints. He met some Sikh marathon runners who encouraged him to take up long-distance running. One day he saw a marathon on television for the first time and decided that’s what he wanted to do.

At the age of 89 in 2000 he ran the London Marathon, his first, and went on to do eight more. His best time was 5 hours and 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Marathon.

“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-kilometer (6.25-mile) race in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 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.”

“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.”

— with files from The Associated Press