‘Turbaned Tornado’ marathon runner Fauja Singh dies at 114 in India

Fauja Singh was widely considered to be the world’s oldest marathon runner. He was hit by a car in India while crossing the road

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Fauja Singh (centre), then 100, celebrates after completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011. Photo: AP

Published: 2:08pm, 15 Jul 2025

A British-Indian man aged 114 and widely considered the oldest marathon runner ever has died after being hit by a car while crossing a road in India.

Fauja Singh died in Punjab, according to local reports, which stated that he suffered fatal injuries in the accident at his birth village of Beas Pind.

His death was confirmed by Khushwant Singh, Punjab’s former state information commissioner, who wrote the runner’s biography, The Turbaned Tornado. “My Turbaned Tornado is no more,” he posted on social media.

In an article by The New Indian Express, Singh’s son Harvinder was quoted as saying: “My father was going for a walk when an unidentified vehicle hit him. He suffered head injuries. We immediately rushed him to a private hospital; however, he succumbed to his injuries.”

Singh, who lived in London, was known to have held multiple marathon records across age categories and became renowned only after joining races at the ripe age of 89 in 2000, finishing his first London marathon in six hours and 54 minutes – a record for his age group at the time.

Fauja Singh, then 101, shows his passport in Causeway Bay ahead of a 10km race at the Hong Kong Marathon event. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

His personal best was at a marathon in Toronto in 2003, which he completed in five hours and 40 minutes, according to Yahoo News.

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