Fauja Singh

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Fauja Singh (2007)

Fauja Singh (born April 1, 1911 in Bias Pind near Jalandhar , Punjab ) is a British- Indian runner. He is supposedly the oldest long-distance runner in the world, the first centenarian to complete a marathon . However, the Guinness Book of Records did not recognize this claim as it cannot prove his alleged age. In February 2013 he ended his running career.

Life

Fauja Singh was born into a farming family in India. As a schoolboy he already ran. Up until the age of 81 he ran a small farm in his home country under the most difficult of conditions. After the death of his wife, he moved to live with his children in Great Britain . There he started running again after around 70 years; he trains twelve to 16 kilometers a day. In 2000, at the age of 89, he ran his first marathon in London . He is a member of the Sikhs in the City running group .

In 2003, Singh set a world record for his age group M 90 at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon with 5:40:04 hours. This was also the personal best of his marathon career. At the Night Run 2010 in Luxembourg , he ran the half marathon in 3:32:30 hours and, at the age of 99, was the oldest half marathon finisher to date. In total, Singh has now completed around 15 marathons and half marathons and is the holder of the British records over five short distances in his age group, which he set within 94 minutes.

In 2011, he set another record in Toronto when he became the first centenarian and therefore the oldest person to run a marathon. He needed 8:25:16 hours for the route, six hours more than the winner. Five runners were slower than him. However, his record will not find entry in the Guinness Book of Records as Singh is unable to produce a valid birth certificate. Two weeks later he ran six kilometers in an interfaith relay at the Frankfurt Marathon . On February 24, 2013, Singh ran his last race and announced his retirement.

In 2004, Fauja Singh was the protagonist of an Adidas advertising campaign together with David Beckham and Zinédine Zidane . As a runner, he also raised funds for charity, in particular for the British Heart Foundation and for Bliss , an organization that cares for premature babies , and for the animal welfare organization PETA .

Fauja Singh is a Sikh and lives vegetarian. He is the father of six children and has 13 grandchildren. In 2011 his biography Turbaned Tornado was published . About running a marathon, he says: "The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for the last six miles, I run while talking to God." (German: "The first 20 miles are not difficult. But the last six miles I run while I talk to God." )

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fauja Singh, 100, won't make Guinness on espn.go.com v. October 24th, 2011 (English) When Singh was naturalized in Great Britain, his date of birth was entered according to his information, since births in India were not yet registered in the first half of the 20th century and therefore there is no birth certificate for Singh.
  2. ↑ sikhsinthecity.org
  3. ^ Report in berliner-kurier.de of February 22, 2013 (accessed on March 10, 2013)
  4. ↑ 100-year-old runs record marathon - start in Frankfurt . Abendblatt.de, October 17, 2011
  5. ↑ Rauschebart-Methuselah on a divine mission on sport1.de v. October 29, 2011
  6. ↑ Turban-Tornado puts an end to fr-online.de v. February 24, 2012
  7. ↑ Man who took to Marathon races at 89 still running at 100 on theweekendleader.com, 14. – 20. October 2011 (Engl.)
  8. ↑ Quote from Indian Express

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Singh, Fauja
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian marathon runner and oldest marathon runner in the world
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Jalandhar , Punjab