RIP Fauja Singh aka 'The Turban Torpedo', World's Oldest Marathon Runner, Dies At 114 After Being Hit By A Car

ABC News – Indian-born runner Fauja Singh, who was believed to be the world's oldest marathon runner, has died after being hit by a car.

He was 114.

Local media in India reported that Mr Singh sustained severe head injuries in a hit-and-run accident on Monday, local time, while he was crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab.

He was taken to the hospital where he later died. His London-based running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, confirmed his death.

India's Prime minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Mr Singh, who had been nicknamed by fans as the 'Turbaned Torpedo', saying he 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".

Mr Singh became the oldest man to run a full marathon in 2011 at the age of 100 in Toronto.

RIP to a legend. Fauja Singh. The Turban Torpedo. The most famous old Asian marathon runner next to the guy who was disqualified for chain smoking cigarettes.

I'd be lying if I pretended to know who the Turban Torpedo was before I read the news of his passing this morning. But the Turban Torpedo has long been a legend in India. A champion of physical fitness. He's been an inspiration to the youth. An inspiration to the old. He was even a torch bearer at the London Olympics in 2012.

When it comes to nicknames, the Turban Torpedo is as good as it gets. It fits Fauja Singh perfectly. It's simple. It describes exactly what he does (wears a turban and runs). The alliteration rolls off the tongue. The Turban Torpedo is not some manufactured, try hard nickname. That's a nickname that comes about naturally and sticks for life.

Fauja Singh took up running at 89 years old, following the passing of his wife and son, as a way to help deal with his grief. He ran the London Marathon that first year. At age 92, he clocked his personal best marathon time of 5 hr 40 min. His final marathon was ran in Toronto at 100-years old.

The Turban Torpedo was in such phenomenal shape for a man in his triple-digits, that he somehow managed to be too old to set the Guinness World Record for 'Oldest Man to Complete a Marathon'. Despite finishing the Toronto marathon at age 100, which should have set the record, Guinness refused to recognize it without a government issued birth certificate. When Turban went to get a new one, he was told by government officials that birth records were not kept in his native Indian village in 1911. Shame on Guinness. How dare they accuse the Turban Torpedo of lying. He had a passport and everything. 

His accomplishment was not recognised by Guinness World Records because he did not have a birth certificate to prove his age.

Mr Singh had a British passport that showed his date of birth as April 1, 1911, while a letter from Indian government officials stated that birth records were not kept in 1911.

But he's still widely recognized as the oldest man to ever complete a marathon. And he certainly must be the oldest man to die from being struck by a vehicle. There can't be many 100-year old's who have died from anything other than general old age health problems. Let alone 114. Typically, when you hear that a centenarian passed away, it's not so much a sad thing. Because you know they've lived a good life. You can usually take solace in knowing that it was their time to go. But being a 114-year old victim of a hit-and-run while you're out exercising… 114-year old men shouldn't be able to exercise. The fact that Fauja Singh was in good enough health to even put himself in that position is a testament to how well he took care of his body.

Fauja Singh. The Turban Torpedo. 114 years on earth is a heck of a life. That's a man who's lived through World War I. A man who likely remembers the fall of the Ottoman Empire. A man who was a full-blown adult throughout the course of World War II. I can hardly fathom experiencing that much. RIP Fauja Singh. He's in a better place now. But for a man who's dedicated the latter part of his life to physical fitness, it's tragic that we'll never know for sure how long he truly could have lived. I can't help but think the Turban Torpedo had at least one more World War in him.

For the man who ran him over and sped off… that's a man who's being reincarnated into a realm of hell.