26-Year-Old Arrested in Death of 'Sikh Superman'

UPDATE Jul 16, 2025 8:09 AM CDT

Indian authorities have arrested a man in connection with the hit-and-run death of centenarian marathon runner Fauja Singh, who died Monday at the age of 114 after being hit in his hometown of Beas Pind. Police say 26-year-old Amritpal Singh Dhillon was driving a white Toyota SUV at the time of the incident, which has also reportedly been recovered, per the BBC. Officials tell the Hindustan Times that Dhillon had arrived in India from Canada, where he now lives with his mother and sisters, just over a week ago for a visit. NDTV reports he'd been returning to his Punjab home after selling his cellphone when the accident happened. Dhillon is said to have told cops he fled the scene because he was scared, and that he hadn't realized he'd hit the famous marathon runner, aka the "Turbaned Tornado" and "Sikh Superman," only finding out about his death through news reports.

Jul 15, 2025 6:46 AM CDT

A man billed as the world's oldest marathon runner has died after a hit-and-run in his hometown in India. Local authorities report that 114-year-old Fauja Singh, a British-Indian national, was trying to cross the street in Beas Pind, the Punjab village where he was born, when a car slammed into him, then sped away. Singh was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died, reports the BBC. "A search is underway, and the accused will be caught soon," a top police official noted.

• Singh, who became the first centenarian to finish a marathon in Toronto in 2011, was an unlikely candidate for marathon runner, young or old. He had weak legs as a child, didn't learn to walk the right way until he was 5, and was often the subject of ridicule. Athletics weren't part of his life until his wife died in the early '90s, followed by the death of a son. Singh joined an elderly runner's group to help with his grief, then hired a coach, and before he knew it, he was making his first big run in the 2000 London Marathon, right before he turned 89.

• Singh finished that event in 6 hours, 54 minutes. He kept shaving minutes off of his marathons, cutting his finish time down to 5 hours, 40 minutes in the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. "The same boy, once mocked for his weakness, went on to make history," he told the BBC. Adidas even included him in an ad campaign in 2003.
• Singh's honor as the planet's oldest marathon runner was an unofficial one, however: Guinness hasn't recognized him as such because he was never able to produce a birth certificate confirming his age; his trainer has said they didn't have birth certificates in India in 1911, the year Singh said he was born.
• Singh's last long-distance competition was in 2013. A practicing Sikh nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado," Singh once told reporters that "the first 20 miles are not difficult," per the New York Times. "As for the last 6 miles, I run while talking to God."
• Even though he'd long been retired from his epic runs, Singh still strove to stay in shape as recently as a few weeks ago. "I still go for walks around the village to keep my legs strong," he told the BBC in June, noting that he tried to stroll a few miles daily. "A person has to take care of his own body."
• In an X post, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Singh "extraordinary," noting he "inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness." "He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination," Modi added.