Singhs at Crossroads

WaheguruJeeKaaKhalsa WaheguruJeeKeeFateh!!

Whilst looking at the stats for this site we realised that we have visitors from all over the world. So we though it would be interesting to post some information on our Sikh Sporting hero's in the UK.

The first post is to do with Bhai Fauja Singh, who at the age of 95 runs marathons. He is quite well known in the UK and the Athletics scene basically because of his appearance as a Sikh and his sponsors which is the huge Sports company ADIDAS, who did quite a large advertising campaign about Bhai Fauja Singh. It was amazing to see Bhai Sahib sitting crossed legged talking about meditation and eating Ginger curry on a massive bill board.

Bhai Sahib also visited the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Cross Road, Coventry, last year due to run in aid of charity organised by the Gurdwara's in Coventry. Below you can see Bhai Sahib in front of the Gurdwrara. we hope you enjoy the articles we have mish-mashed together, we hope he becomes a inspiration for future athletes and young Sikhs to keep their appearance as even he has become accepted all over the world and runs marathons when invited.

Now, Fauja Singh is something of a phenomenon. His charity work is well documented - all the money he is to receive from the lucrative Adidas advertising campaign will be given to charity - and he ran the London Marathon for the British Heart Foundation and Bliss, a premature baby charity. "I think that it is a good thing for the oldest runner in the race to run for the youngest people in our world," he said.

There's no secret to his success, he says. He practises, eats a basic vegetarian Punjab diet, doesn't drink or smoke and avoids experimenting with food in case something new upsets his system. "With the grace of God I am still running, and because of my faith I run to help the vulnerable," he says humbly.

He is 180 per cent fitter than an average man of his age, with a bone density in his left leg of a 50-year-old and a "20-year-old's right leg". He walks or runs 7 to 10 miles every day and has a training session with his coach once a week, although, he confesses, "When I am tired I do use my bus pass."

His trainer, Harmander Singh, says: "He loves being a star. He values being recognised and sees it as raising the profile of Sikhs."

Fauja Singh hopes to return in 2009 to break the record for the oldest marathon runner - held by a 98-year-old Greek athlete - but his fundraising will continue. "Any spare money I have I give to charity," he says, "after all, you can't take it with you."

Life begins at 90  

It's just six years until the Queen's telegram lands on your mat congratulating you on your 100th birthday.

You're taking it easy, right? Slippers on, trips to the coast with a blanket on your lap and a short shuffle to the newsagent's for your Werther's Originals the closest you get to exercise.

Not if you're Fauja Singh - who can regularly be spotted flying down the streets of Essex in his spikes.

At 94, he's run seven marathons (five in London), countless half-marathons and was recently part of the world's oldest marathon team in Edinburgh.

Fauja's jogging skills were developed on an Indian farm in Punjab, and then at the magical age of 81, when he moved to the UK, his love for the sport became more "serious".

Next up? He set his sights on being a record breaker.

And Asafa Powell might have to watch his back. The Jamaican may have the new 100m record, but Fauja's now grabbed a whole load of new ones.

London's Mile End Park Stadium played host to the great man attempting to set world bests for men over 90.

The event was all in aid of charity and promoting the London 2012 Olympic bid.

And Fauja came up with five new records in 94 incredible minutes.

So any secrets to fitness? Fauja's training regime includes a daily eight-mile walk and run, no smoking or drinking, plenty of smiling and lashings of ginger curry.

The pounding pensioner is already a superstar. Last year Adidas signed up Fauja alongside David Beckham and Jonny Wilkinson as part of its 'Impossible is nothing' campaign.

And next on the list?

More marathons - and coach Harminder Singh is trying to set up a showdown between Fauja and Japan's Kozo Haraguchi - the new 100m world record holder for the 95-99 age group.

Expect some serious fireworks on the starting line.

So, having only run seriously for the last 13 years, when does Fauja think he'll trade in his spikes for a zimmer frame?

"When I die!" he laughs.

So at least another 50 years, then.

Here is a example of Bhai Sahib's pyaar for Sikhi, the question is would you do the same? 

London, England — Rob Marris MP tabled the following Early Day Motion (EDM) in the UK Parliament after marathon runner, Fauja Singh, was refused entry on the London Eye, the large observation wheel that overlooks the city.

EDM 1327 - That this House is concerned to note that the renowned nonagenarian runner, Mr. Fauja Singh, who completed this year's London Marathon, was refused entry to a consequent ceremony at the British Airways London Eye when he understandably refused to remove his kirpan, the ceremonial knife carried by all practising Sikhs, because the operators of the London Eye regard a kirpan as a weapon, and thus a security hazard, despite the fact that the Offensive Weapons Act 1996, the Crime Act 1951 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988, all exempt, albeit on public rather than private property, items which have religious significance; and urges those operators to work with the Sikh community to draw up suitable guidelines, similar to those long since adopted in Wolverhampton schools, allowing kirpans to be carried by Sikhs when travelling on the London Eye.

Osama jeers didn't stop Sikh marathon man, 92

A 92-year-old Sikh man who ran the New York City Marathon wearing his turban endured taunts of "Hey, Osama Bin Laden" and "Look at Saddam" along the 26-mile route.
Fauja Singh had decided to run to educate the public about Sikhism, a religion founded in Punjab, India, in the 1500s. He found he still has a long road ahead.

"Sikhs are not a part of any other religion. It is its own religion," said Singh, who took 7-1/2 hours to run through the five boroughs on Nov. 12. "I wasn't hurt by it," he said. "Those comments had nothing to do with the race."

Singh, a British citizen who lives in London, said that for all the offensive comments there were plenty of cheers and a continuous roar of clapping that kept him focused on the asphalt.

When the people were looking [cheering] at me, I was getting all of their energies," said the nonagenarian, speaking in Punjabi through an interpreter.

Yesterday, Singh was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition Organization, a group that advocates ethnic pride and tolerance.

William Fugazy, the chairman of the coalition, said Singh is a symbol of racial tolerance, and his run helps bridge the gap created by the Sept.11 terrorist attacks.

"He is the greatest inspiration," said Fugazy, adding that Singh is the first non-American to receive the honor.

WaheguruJeeKaaKhalsa WaheguruJeeKeeFateh!!