Sports
101-yr-old Sikh-Briton Marathoner Fauja Singh Named OlympicTorch Bearer For London
NEWS REPORTS
101-year-old Sikh-Briton Fauja Singh has been named one of the torch bearers for the 2012 Olympic torch relay.
His name was flashed on the official website of the London Olympics on Thursday, May 10, 2012.
A total of 8,000 inspirational people have been nominated to carry this flame that will journey across the United Kingdom from May 19 till July 27.
Fauja Singh, who completed the London marathon last month at the age of 101 and beat his own record, will carry the flame through the London Borough of Newham on July 21.
This is the second time that he has been selected for this honour: he was also a torch bearer for the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Fauja was in the news recently, not only for his completion of yet another marathon in London, on Sunday, April 22, 2012 and for breaking his own record, but also for his announcement that it was his last full marathon.
He insists, however, that he will keep running as long as he can, though for shorter distances.
"Everyone dies, so you might as well die ... doing something you enjoy," Fauja Singh said.
“If I stop training and running I think my health will deteriorate and I'll die. I just can’t sit still. I still like to run and walk 6 to 10 km once a week to keep myself fit. It is what keeps me going,” he explained to his millions of fans around the world.
May 11, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Baljit (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), May 11, 2012, 9:34 AM.
He is a true inspiration! May he keep running and running and running ...
2: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), May 11, 2012, 10:08 AM.
What an attitude and what a man!
3: Manjit Kaur (Maryland, U.S.A.), May 11, 2012, 11:23 AM.
A very proud moment for Sikhs in the United Kingdom and indeed all over the world.
4: Navpreet Singh (Manila, Phillipines), May 11, 2012, 11:48 AM.
Proud of Sardar Fauja Singh. From Bias pind, near Jalandhar, Punjab ... he is truly legendary!
5: Dharma (Toronto,Ontario, Canada), May 11, 2012, 3:07 PM.
Godspeed, Bapu ji! BRRRRRUUUUUAAAAHHHHH !
6: Dr. Pargat Singh (Nottingham, United Kingdom), May 11, 2012, 6:26 PM.
What a wonderful inspiration S. Fauja Singh ji is to us all.
7: Pardeep Kaur (London, United Kingdom), May 11, 2012, 6:36 PM.
I'm so-o-o proud of him that, at this age, he is doing so well. I'm also proud of myself because I ran with him in the Glasgow marathon!
8: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), May 11, 2012, 10:07 PM.
I think S. Fauja Singh has a problem. Once he starts running he is too lazy to stop.
9: Naina (U.S.A.), May 12, 2012, 2:56 AM.
A true example of Sikhi fighting spirit. So very humbling ... my deepest admiration!
10: Jasbir Kaur Singh (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada), May 16, 2012, 10:59 PM.
An inspiring lesson for today's generations.
11: Harmander Singh (London, England), June 07, 2012, 11:11 AM.
As his coach, I am pleased Fauja Singh will have the honour of running with the Olympic Torch again - he is so looking forward to it. Here is some other good news - and a request. PART 1 - Fauja Singh would like at least 101 Sikhs, Punjabis and others from the sub-continent to register for the 5 km run with the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon on 14 October, 2012 - when this is done, please let me know and I will ensure he will slow down enough to run with you all. PART 2 - After Toronto, Fauja Singh has been invited to participate n the Frankfurt Marathon (Relay) on 28 October, 2012 where it would also be nice to see Sikhs in Europe to join him - please register asap. PART 3 - It is Fauja Singh's wish to run in the Singapore Marathon (I will allow him to run in the 5km event) on 2 December, 2012 - but I need to know of the level of support he can expect beforehand - it was this total lack of support from the Sikh community in Vancouver that helped me decide not to bother with the race on 23 September - it is now too late, so no pleading, please - it simply does not wash with me. PART 4 - Fauja Singh has again been invited by Gurmeet Singh Gill and his friends in Hong Kong to participate in some small way there in February 2013 - this is looking extremely likely as is the possibility of Harbhag Singh (who will be 68 years old by then) joining him - Harbhag Singh has now run 114 marathons (the first 111 were all under 4 hours and three were under 3 hours) - I am somehat humbled by this as I have only completed a meagre 60 to date and only a handful under four hours. REQUEST - Fauja Singh belongs to the "Sikhs In The City" (SITC) Running Club - and with Fauja Singh who will take part in the 10 km Family Fun Run, a small team (five) are taking part in the Mauritius Marathon on 15 July 2012. We need help in promoting the race among the Sikh, Punjabi and Indian community there as Fauja Singh is raising awareness and funds for SOS Children's Charity (orphanages all over the world) but are struggling to make contacts (we have made contact with the Gurdwara Sahib in Port Louis, though) - our other need is to make up the shortfall in our costs of the trip and offer the inclusion of any supporters' names on the next batch of our famous club T-shirts (for details, see www.sikhsinthecity.org) for a fee of £125 (pounds sterling) - after covering the cost of producing the T-shirts we will be using the surplus towards the trip - we need forty contributors to cover our trip costs - the design with only one Khanda won the recent design competition and we will be producing 300 T-shirts of each design. Please make cheques payable to SIKHS IN ENGLAND as they are the account holders and post to SIE, c/o 47 Wellesley Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 4JX, ENGLAND. Thanking everyone in advance ...