Fauja Singh (born April 1, 1911) is a centenarian Sikh. He is a marathon runner of Indian descent who is a world record holder in his age bracket. His current personal best time for the London Marathon (2003) is 6 hours 2 minutes,[1] and his marathon record, for age 90-plus, is 5 hours 40 minutes, at the age of 92, at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2003.[2][3]
Singh has stated, \"I won\'t stop running until I die. The next target, God willing, is to be the oldest marathon runner ever.\"[4] and, \"At the time when people start retiring, I thought of running at the age of 63...and today I won the marathon at 93 years of age.\"[citation needed]
In 2004, Singh was featured in an advertising campaign for sportswear manufacturer Adidas alongside David Beckham and Muhammad Ali.
Singh, who is a vegetarian,[5] holds UK records for the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, mile and 3000 m for his age group, records all set within a single 94 minute period.[6][7][8]
At the age of 100 (and a half), Singh attempted and accomplished eight world age group records in one day, at the special Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational Meet, held at Birchmount Stadium in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Timed by officials in Canada,[9] Singh ran the 100 metres in 23.14, 200 metres in 52.23, the 400 metres in 2:13.48, the 800 metres in 5:32.18, the 1500 metres in 11:27.81, the Mile in 11:53.45, the 3000 metres in 24:52.47 and the 5000 metres in 49:57.39. Each time bested the previous record in that age division (some events had no previous record holder as nobody over age 100 had ever attempted to run the distance). Some of his marks are significantly superior to the listed world record in the M95 age group as well.[10]
Three days later, on October 16, 2011, Singh became the first 100 year old to complete a marathon, running the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8:11:06. However, it took Singh over 14 minutes after the gun to cross the start line, so the official time submitted for the record will be 8:25:17
Achievements
Running Career Rediscovered at age of 81
Marathons run: London (5), Toronto (1), New York (1)
Marathon debut: London, 2000, aged 89
London Flora Marathon 2000: 6:54
London Flora Marathon 2001: 6:54
London Flora Marathon 2002: 6:45
Bupa Great North Run (Half Marathon) 2002: 2:39
London Flora Marathon 2003: 6:02
Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2003: 5:40
New York City Marathon 2003: 7:35
London Flora Marathon 2004: 6:07
Glasgow City Half Marathon 2004: 2:33
Capital Radio Help a London Child 10,000 m 2004: 1:08
Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon 2004: 2:29:59
Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2011: 8:11:06
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A Book On Fauja Singh
Turbaned Tornado released in Britain
“Turbaned Tornado”, a biography of 100-year-old UK-based marathon runner of Indian descent Fauja Singh, was released in Britain’s House of Lords. The 114-page book, penned by journalist-cum-writer Khushwant Singh, captures Fauja Singh’s zest for life and his invincible spirit. Lord Anthony Young of Norwood Green formally released the biography of Fauja Singh, a world record holder marathoner in his age bracket, last evening. The book traces the runner’s roots and tries to capture his life’s journey, understanding the impact of Fauja on the world around him.
For Fauja “impossible is Nothing”, Khushwant Singh told the gathering. Khushwant Singh, also the author of best-selling Sikhs Unlimited, a travelogue from UK to USA,featuring extraordinary Sikhs, told the gathering that he first met the world’s half marathon runner in 2005 “when I was working on my first book, Sikhs Unlimited.” He said “Fauja Singh’s story is no folklore. It is a true story of an old sikh man who started running at an age where many do not even reach and went on to achieve superhuman feats.” Born in Bias Pind, then a nondescript Punjab village on the present Jalandhar-Pathankot road, Fauja was the youngest child of his poor parents who bore four children. Fauja, much to the dismay of his parents was not a blessed child. He was rather a non-starter, given that he started walking only at the age of five. Given Fauja’s health condition no one in the family gave him much chance at athleticism. So frail was Fauja in health, that he could barely walk a mile till the age of fifteen. “My legs were so weak that I could not even walk a mile.
Perhaps it was Almight’s way of preserving them for later years,” Fauja, who was present at the book release, said. The book also has a telegraph from Queen Elizabeth II congratulating Fauja Singh on his 100th birthday on April 1, 2011. In his Foreword, former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh wrote: “Fauja Singh’s unprecedented achievements mark a never before triumph of the human spirit and it makes me more than proud that I share with him a common heritage – one that is rooted in the fertile Punjabi hinterland and infused with a zeal that never gives in.”
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Compiled by babushahi bureau(Sources Wikipedia and Book by Khushwant Singh,
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