CNN
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According to Indian police, Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathon runner, still competing after turning 100 years ago, was still competing after turning 100 years old. He was 114 years old.
Born in the Indian countryside in 1911, before moving to London later, Singh won the nickname “Turbanized Tornado” after running a marathon in the late ’80s. He completed nine of his 26.2 mile races.
He was considered the world’s oldest marathon runner, but he never secured a Guinness World Record because he didn’t have a birth certificate.
According to Indian police, the unknown vehicle struck Singh as he was walking along a road near Beads in Punjab, northwest India.
He was sent to Sliman Hospital in Jalandhar district, where he succumbed to injuries sustained to his head and rib, said Jalandhar Country Superintendent of Harbinder Singh Burk police.
“We’re working on identifying the vehicle. We used CCTV footage from the area to track the vehicle and sent a team working on it,” the manager told CNN, adding that passersby witnessed the accident.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi He leads national tributes and calls Singh a “unbelievably determined exceptional athlete.”
Shin only After his wife and son died, he began running marathons when he was 89 years old.
“Running brought me back to life by showing kindness to me and making me forget all my trauma and sadness,” he told CNN in an interview at the age of 102.
He ran his first marathon after just a few months of training, and three years later he achieved his personal best of 5 hours and 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
In 2011, Singh returned to Toronto, where he became the first 100 people to complete a marathon, finishing in 8 hours, 11 minutes, and 6 seconds.
It was far from his humble childhood in India, when he was unable to walk until he was five due to weak legs.
His final race took place in Hong Kong, a 10-kilometer route in 2013, a year after carrying a torch for the 2012 London Olympics.
Despite his success, his achievements were never accepted by Guinness World Records rule keepers due to his lack of birth certificate. However, he received a letter from Queen Elizabeth of England, celebrating his 100th birthday.
“I love running shoes so much. I absolutely love them. I wear them for joy. I can’t imagine my life without them,” he told CNN at the age of 102.
