Fauja Singh, world's oldest marathon runner, dies at 114 after being hit by car in India

Singh became the oldest man to ever run a full marathon at 100 years old in 2011

Fauja Singh, an Indian-born man who is believed to be the world's oldest marathon runner, died of injuries after being hit by a car on Monday. He was 114.

According to the Associated Press, media in India reported that Singh suffered severe head injuries in a hit-and-run incident while he was crossing the road in his native village of Punjab, and later died after being transported to a local hospital. Singh had come to be globally recognized as the oldest man to ever run a full marathon, a mark that he set by running in Toronto at the age of 100 in 2011. Singh's record was not recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as he did not have a birth certificate to verify his age. Such records were not kept by Indian government officials in the early 20th century, though a British passport listed Singh's date of birth as being April 1, 1911.

Singh, a farmer in his native India, took up running at the age of 89 as a means of dealing with depression due to the deaths of his wife and son in short succession in the early 1990s. Not long after the death of his wife, his son Kudip was killed when he was decapitated by a flying piece of corrugated metal while he and his father were checking on their fields during a storm. After emigrating to London to live with his youngest son, Singh began to attend tournaments organized in the Sikh community, first participating in sprints before taking up long-distance running.

At the age of 89 in 2000, Singh began his marathon career at the London Marathon, and he would go on to do eight more with a best time of five hours and 40 minutes in the 2003 Toronto Marathon. He continued to run until the age of 101, completing his career at the Hong Kong Marathon's 10-kilometer race. During his career, Singh -- nicknamed the "Turban Torpedo" -- became world-renowned for pursuing an athletic career at his advanced age, and he would serve as a torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics.

Singh also became a national inspiration in India, with prime minister Narendra Modi saluting him as "extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness ... He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world."