Police in India have arrested a man in connection with the death of Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathon runner, in a hit-and-run case.According to the police, the accused, Amritpal Singh Dhillon was driving a speeding SUV when he struck the 114-year-old British-Indian runner. Singh sustained critical injuries and died shortly after being taken to hospital.The incident took place in the northern state of Punjab on Monday, where Singh was out on his afternoon walk. Singh, a global icon, set records by running marathons across multiple age categories, including when he was over 100. He began running at 89 and ran nine full marathons between 2000 and 2013, when he retired.A white-coloured SUV, allegedly used in the incident, has also been recovered by the police. The hit and run occurred near Fauja Singh’s birth village of Beas Pind, close to Jalandhar city. Police said Singh was crossing a road when he was struck by a vehicle. Locals took him to hospital, where he later died.According to Indian media reports citing the police complaint, the runner’s life might have been saved had the 26-year-old driver immediately taken Singh to the hospital.Singh had many records to his name. In 2011, he reportedly became the first person over 100 to finish a full marathon, in Toronto. He also carried the Olympic torch at the 2012 London Olympics.Despite his achievements, Guinness World Records could not recognise him as the oldest marathon runner because he did not have a birth certificate from 1911. The BBC earlier reported that Singh’s British passport showed his date of birth as being 1 April 1911, and that he had a letter from the Queen congratulating him on his 100th birthday. Guinness said they wanted to give him the record but could only accept official documents from the year of birth.His marathon trainer had earlier said that birth certificates were not issued in India at the time.His running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, said its upcoming events in Ilford, east London, where he had lived since 1992, would be a celebration of his life and achieveme …
