Centenarian sets record
A British centenarian of Indian ancestry became the oldest person
ever to complete a full 42-kilometre (26-mile) marathon over the weekend
in Toronto, Canadian media said Monday. Fauja Singh, 100, took eight
hours to cross the finish line - more than six hours after Kenya's
Kenneth Mungara won the event for the fourth straight year. Although
finishing 3,849th,
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Fauja Singh |
Singh is "overjoyed" about beating his predicted time, his coach
Harmander Singh told the daily Toronto Star.
The runner had set a goal of finishing the race in about nine hours.
"He's absolutely overjoyed, he's achieved his life-long wish," said his
coach. "He was so determined to finish the race. The challenge for him
was to finish the race, not to finish the race fast," the coach also
told AFP.
"The crowd was most encouraging," he added.
Fans cheered his accomplishment in newspapers and online. "Congrats
Fauja Singh, you're such an inspiration!" said one Facebook comment
among 17,000. "May (God) bless you with many more years of a healthy,
active life!" said another.
Sunday's Toronto marathon was Singh's eighth. The five-foot-eight,
115-pound runner, affectionately known as the "Turbaned Tornado,"
entered his first race at age 89 after losing his wife and child. He
hopes next to carry the torch at the 2012 Olympics in London. AFP |
