Fauja Singh, who gained notoriety as the world’s oldest marathoner, died on Monday from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident.
He was believed to be 114 years old according to numerous published reports.
Singh suffered significant head injuries following the accident on Jalandhar-Pathankot highway in Beyas village in the Punjab state in India. He was walking to a roadside restaurant when he was struck. Singh was rushed to a local hospital where he died.
Police in the region are searching for the driver of the vehicle.
Reports of Singh’s death drew widespread tributes, was also confirmed by his London-based running club, Sikhs in the City.
Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, posted his condolences on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
“Fauja Singh Ji 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,” Modi said in his statement. “He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.”
Nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo, Singh claimed to be 100 in 2011 when he ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8:11:06, easily making him the oldest person to complete the distance. Guinness World Records did not recognize the achievement because Singh did not have a birth certificate to prove his age despite his British passport showing his date of birth as April 1, 1911. The registration births and deaths in India became official required law in 1969.
A farmer by trade, Singh took up running seriously when he was 89 after a personal tragedies in India pushed him into depression. His wife Gian Kaur died in 1992 and one of his five sons, Kuldip, was killed in 1994 during a storm when a piece of blown debris struck him in a field.
Singh moved to London to live with his youngest son and immersed himself in the Sikh community and attended events that first conjured his interest in running. Singh ran the London Marathon in 2000 — his first major race — after previously watching the event on television for the first time. He completed the race in 6:54.
His popularity rose afterward and Singh completed nine marathons before retiring from competitive running in 2013 after finishing a 10K in Hong Kong in 1:32:28.
Singh was a torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics and claimed that his longevity was due to never smoking, drinking alcohol and maintaining a rigid — and basic — vegetarian diet.
In a statement, Sikhs in the City, announced it would dedicate all of its events until March 2026 in celebration of Singh’s life and achievements.
