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Topic starter
01/04/2022 3:22 am
If his claim is true, Fauja Singh would turn eleventy-one today. Unfortunately, that makes his claim almost freely discardable at this point... On the other hand, I do think he is a centenarian by now, which is pretty cool in itself, and interesting given his running history.
Dejan and The Onehundredth reacted
02/04/2022 2:49 pm
He has been confirmed to reach claimed 111 on Facebook and he still can walk unaided
Dejan and The Onehundredth reacted
02/04/2022 9:34 pm
@ell Source for the "1926" claim?
I can't remember the source - so I can't claim I'm definitely correct, but I'm sure another member can chime in here.
If it's not been researched, then I'd be quite surprised. If he was a genuine candidate for the oldest man in Britain then I expect he would be more than just a fringe area at this stage.
Amck reacted
02/04/2022 9:40 pm
Just want to be clear, this claim applied for the GWR "Oldest marathon runner" title and his application was NOT accepted.
But that is not proof he was not born in 1911. It simply means he did not have sufficient early-life evidence to support the claim.
Thus, if further work is needed, it needs to be done.
Topic starter
04/04/2022 12:31 am
@ryoung122 I'm aware, and moreover have very little confidence in his claim*. But I agree of course, that absence of evidence is ≠ evidence of absence. I hope it is done! It would be amazing if it were true, of course!
*Although, after having thought about it for a while, another centenarian runner, Kowalski, also made it to 111. Probably 112, even! And Kees de Jager also attained centenarianhood... Nothing's impossible!
Topic starter
27/03/2023 6:04 am
It's that time of the year again... And Fauja Singh is still with us. I wonder, would https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_living_people soon list him..? (To be clear: I still think that would be under-supported, hopefully we'll find out for sure one day.)
27/03/2023 10:20 am
He’s certainly a very interesting character from the biographies available on him.
The sporting records perhaps count against him being the age claimed, until or unless some reasonable proof emerges.
They would be amazing achievements for the ages claimed at the respective times.
Topic starter
28/03/2023 5:31 pm
I agree.
Given the https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_records_in_masters_athletics , they would certainly not be inconceivable (his record in the 100 m dash is 'only' some 3" faster than two others in that same category), however in the longer distances the differences become somewhat overwhelmingly larger..
The photo of him from the seemingly '70s/'80s-ish where he certainly looks a sexagenarian or even septuagenarian are somewhat convincing, though. It's such a shame they aren't dated.
However, given his claimed athletic abilities he would have to be a man as exceptional as a Jeanne Calment, say, which is not impossible but very unlikely, certainly given the slew of other explanations available for his claimed age (bad records, he may or may not believe it himself, etc.)
