Fauja Singh

He was a frail child who started to walk at the age of five

Fauja Singh, the British marathoner of Indian origin, who recently retired from competitive events, is considered the world’s oldest marathon runner. He will turn 102 on 1 April. Singh completed his last race, the Hong Kong marathon’s 10-kilometre race, in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds.

Nicknamed the ‘Turbaned Tornado’, Singh took up marathon running seriously at the age of 89. He was born in Bias Pind, Punjab, in 1911. He was a frail child who started to walk only at the age of five. Although he turned into an avid amateur runner later in his youth, according to his biography Turbaned Tornado, he quit running to focus on farming.

Singh resumed running as a way to get over the depression of losing his wife and daughter (in 1992) and his son (in 1994). Singh and his son Kuldip, both farmers, were on their field 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. Following the incident, he went to live with his youngest son in London. That’s where he met Sikh marathon runners who encouraged him to take up long-distance running.

In 2000, he ran his first race, the London Marathon. He went on to compete in eight more 26-mile marathons. His best time for the full marathon was 5 hours and 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Marathon. He became the oldest full marathon runner after finishing the 2011 Toronto Marathon when he turned 100. However, his feat was not recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records because he does not have a birth certificate to prove his age—only a passport.

Queen Elizabeth II wrote him a letter to congratulate him on his 100th birthday, and among his other achievements, he carried the Olympic torch in 2012. He also featured in an ad campaign for Adidas in 2004 alongside David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.

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