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Man who became world’s oldest marathon runner at Toronto race dies in hit-and-run

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Fauja Singh, an Indian-born runner nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo who was believed to be the world’s oldest marathon runner, has died after being hit by a car. He was 114.

Local media in India reported that Singh sustained severe head injuries in a hit-and-run accident on Monday while he was crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar in Punjab. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.

His London-based running club and charity, Sikhs In The City, confirmed his death.

India’s Prime minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Singh, saying he was “extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness.”

Singh became the oldest man to run a full marathon in 2011 at the age of 100 in Toronto. His accomplishment was not recognized by Guinness World Records because he did not have a birth certificate to prove his age.

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Singh had a British passport that showed his date of birth as April 1, 1911, while a letter from Indian government officials stated that birth records were not kept in 1911.

Fauja Singh, aged 100, grimaces and holds his back after crossing the line in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Toronto on Oct. 16, 2011. Singh, 114, died Monday after being hit by a car near his native village in Punjab.


Fauja Singh, aged 100, grimaces and holds his back after crossing the line in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Toronto on Oct. 16, 2011. Singh, 114, died Monday after being hit by a car near his native village in Punjab.


Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

A torchbearer for the 2012 London Olympics, Singh took up running at the age of 89 as a way to get over depression after his wife and son died in quick succession in India. The death in 1994 of his son took a particularly hard toll on him because of its grisly nature.

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Singh and his son, Kuldip, both farmers, were checking on their fields in the middle of a storm when a piece of corrugated metal blown by the wind decapitated Kuldip in front of his father’s eyes.

Singh, whose five other children had emigrated, was left all alone.

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“He didn’t think his life was worth living without his son” following the traumatic incident, his coach Harmander Singh said.

He went to live with his youngest son in London. That’s where sports enthusiast Singh attended tournaments organized by the Sikh community and took part in sprints. He met some Sikh marathon runners who encouraged him to take up long-distance running. One day he saw a marathon on television for the first time and decided that’s what he wanted to do.

At the age of 89 in 2000 he ran the London Marathon, his first, and went on to do eight more. His best time was 5 hours and 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Marathon.


“From a tragedy has come a lot of success and happiness,” Singh said.

Singh ran his last competitive race in 2013 at the age of 101, finishing the Hong Kong Marathon’s 10-kilometer (6.25-mile) race in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 28 seconds.

Following his retirement from racing, he said he hoped “people will remember me and not forget me.” He also wanted people to continue to invite him to events “rather than forget me altogether just because I don’t run anymore.”

“He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination,” Modi said. “Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.”

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Indigenous group says ancient remains found at Toronto job site are missing

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An Indigenous organization is threatening to stop all construction at a Toronto job site after discovering that ancestral remains stored in a dump truck for over a year are now missing.

The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, said it’s threatening to halt construction activities on Withrow Avenue after feeling like its pleas to find the remains were ignored.

The HDI claims the City of Toronto and its consultants withheld access to the remains and denied repeated requests for involvement.

The remains were excavated from a site located in what is acknowledged as historic Haudenosaunee territory.

“We’ve been denied basic information, denied consultation and denied respect,” said Aaron Detlor, legal counsel for HDI. “Now we have been told, in writing, that those remains are actually sitting in a dump truck. This is beyond negligent.”

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Archaeological Services Inc. (ASI), the consultant hired by the city, has confirmed that the human remains were placed in a dump truck and removed from the site, though they have not disclosed where the remains were taken.

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The Withrow Avenue site sits on top of an ancient Indigenous village and is designated a burial site investigation zone, according to the release.

A city plaque across the street even marks the area’s significance. HDI says it never consented to the excavation or handling of the remains, which it says violates both Canadian and international law.


Other archaeological firms reportedly declined to work on the site due to ethical concerns. HDI alleges ASI proceeded without the required free, prior and informed consent from the Haudenosaunee.

The group is calling for the immediate return of the remains and an end to all archaeological activity on the site until its jurisdiction is fully recognized. It says it’s prepared to take direct action if the city does not comply.

“The remains of Haudenosaunee ancestors must not be treated like trash,” the statement read. “They must be returned to the Earth with ceremony and dignity, not treated like garbage.”

The city said it plans on holding a news conference on the issue.

The remains were first uncovered in January 2024 during routine utility work. Since then, the site has been fenced off under 24-7 security, with the city spending nearly $200,000 to monitor it. Yet, no formal excavation or repatriation process has begun.

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Tanya Hill-Montour, the archaeology supervisor for Six Nations of the Grand River, has previously criticized the city’s lack of urgency and transparency.

Hill-Montour said if the remains were of a European settler, she felt there would be more urgency to see a resolution to the matter by now.

City officials have cited weather delays and ongoing negotiations with First Nations as reasons for the slow progress. However, HDI maintains that Indigenous communities with rightful jurisdiction were excluded from decision-making.

The conflict also highlights growing concern over Ontario’s Bill 5, which gives provincial ministers the power to override heritage and environmental protections, raising fears that more Indigenous burial sites could be compromised.

For now, HDI says it will act independently to investigate and protect its ancestors unless the city reverses course.

“Due to the appalling disregard shown by the City of Toronto, we must proceed with our own investigation,” the HDI said.

— with files from Matthew Bingley

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Olympian Penny Oleksiak faces doping allegations, multi-year ban

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Swim star Penny Oleksiak of Toronto has been notified of an apparent anti-doping rule violation by the International Testing Agency.

According to the ITA, Oleksiak committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period between October 2024 and June 2025.

She has been made aware of the case and has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension pending the resolution of the matter.

She has the right to provide her explanations for each of the three whereabouts failures.

Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments from the ITA, World Aquatics or Oleksiak during the ongoing proceedings.

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That implies that the third missed test came after Oleksiak qualified for the Canadian team at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

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In a now-deleted Instagram post, Oleksiak announced two weeks ago that she was withdrawing from the World Championship team and accepting a voluntary provisional suspension. Any eventual sanction would be reduced by the amount of time she was suspended under the voluntary provisional suspension.

In the post, Oleksiak asserted “I am and always have been a clean athlete” and that the case “does not involve any banned substance; it’s about whether I updated my information correctly.”


Swimming Canada echoed the sentiment and said “We support her decision and believe she is a clean athlete who made an administrative mistake.”

A Whereabouts Case is an Anti-Doping rule violation that can affect athlete eligibility even if they have never taken a banned substance. The World Anti-Doping Code defines a Whereabouts failure as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period.

Athletes who are members of the “Registered Testing Pool” which is the highest tier of athlete testing, are required to report an accurate and up-to-date filing of their whereabouts at all times. This is so they can be drug tested at any time and any place with no advance notice.

According to World Aquatics, if an athlete in the testing pool submits “late, inaccurate or incomplete whereabouts that lead to (them) being unavailable for testing, (they) may receive a Filing Failure.”

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Ontario man swimming in Muskoka lake hit by boat, driver charged

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A man out for a swim in a lake in Muskoka, Ont., is in critical condition after being hit by a boat over the weekend.

Ontario Provincial Police in Bracebridge and first responders in Muskoka received several calls Saturday that there had been a boat collision on Skeleton Lake in Muskoka Lake Township.

The crash happened near Skelton Lake Road 5 around 5 p.m.

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Callers reported that a boat had collided with a swimmer and people on shore had managed to bring the victim out of the water.

Police say first responders were on scene quickly and the victim, a 22-year-old Georgina man, was rushed to hospital.

He was then later air-lifted to a Toronto-area hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police located the driver of the vessel, a 39-year-old Niagara Falls man, and charged him with impaired operation causing bodily harm, failure to comply with a demand, failure to stop at an accident resulting in bodily harm and failure to comply with a release order.

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The investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone with information, including footage from home surveillance systems, to call Bracebridge OPP.


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