By Asia Samachar | Panjab |
British marathon runner Fauja Singh died in Punjab, India, after being hit by a car while trying to cross a road.
Reports in India say he suffered fatal injuries in the accident in his birth village, Beas Pind, near Jalandhar in Punjab,
His London-based running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, confirmed his death and said their upcoming events in Ilford, east London, will be a celebration of his life and achievements, reports The Independent newspaper.
Singh – who lived in Ilford from 1992 – made his name by beating a number of records for marathon times in multiple age brackets.
The centenarian became an inspiration for countless athletes by running marathons past the age of 100.
A profile on the Olympics website said Singh was born in Punjab, then under British rule, on April 1 1911 and was the youngest of four children in a farming family.
He was said to have suffered from thin and weak legs, and was unable to walk until he was five years old. He moved to England and settled in east London with his son after the death of his wife Gian Kaur in Jalandhar.
It was not until 2000, aged 89, that he took up running, quickly rising to fame by completing his maiden marathon in London in six hours and 54 minutes, the report added.
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