Indian man claims to be oldest runner at 119

Meerut: After an 86-year-old iron nun who gave the world serious fitness goals, and a 104-year-old Indian origin marathon runner Fauja Singh, a 119-year-old Indian cow herder seems to be showing the capability of human will power to the world with his incredible health.

If the information in Dharam Pal Singh’s passport is to be believed, he will be the most notable runner at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Perth, Australia with competitors from across the world. He will not just be the oldest man alive, but the oldest person ever to participate in a race.

But as amazing his story may sound, doubts are being raised about the extraordinary abilities of Dharam Pal Singh, since authorities at the Masters Athletics Federation of India suspect that the cow herder is lying about his age. This scepticism is also shared by an expert who said that the oldest age for men is known to be 115 and 99% of claims about being above that mark are found to be false.

Dr. Thomas T. Perls also added that while odds of being 119-years-old are already being low and chances of being a runner on top of that are close to building a space-shift and reaching Pluto.

But amid doubts about his age, Dharam Pal Singh maintains that his birth date mentioned as 1897 in the passport is accurate. Singh also added that even though he has paid the entry fees, he needs money for air tickets to reach Perth and prepare.

The cow herder from Gudha village in UP, has been going to New Delhi hoping that some politician might help him out. He said that he will live in a cheap room, but he wants to go for the championships.

Singh’s situation highlights difficulties in being taken seriously by many athletes in less developed countries, since he doesn’t have a birth certificate, just like Fauja Singh whose achievements were not recognised as world records by Guinness, due to failure to produce a birth certificate.

This happens since birth certificates were not regularly given in rural India when these centenarians were born, and which is why several people, from third world countries, with similar claims about age have not been taken seriously.

The oldest participant in the championship after Dharam Pal is a 97-year-old Australian World War II veteran named John Gilmour who was captured by Japanese and forced into hard labour, hence losing his eyesight.

But the veteran resumed running after the war and has been participating in numerous events ever since. He said that Dharam Pal Singh’s claims were hard to believe and that he was lucky to be alive at such an old age.

The officials at the championship denied any bias in treatment and said that they asked Singh to produce a birth certificate or school certificate or children’s birth certificate for verifying his age. They added that they have nothing to validate his claims about his age.

Dharam Pal on the other hand said that he is illiterate and doesn’t have school certificates at well, while his passport, voter ID card and PAN card mention his birth date as October 6, 1897.

His PAN card, voter ID and passport note his birth year as 1897 (Photo: YouTube)

Saying that those doubting him are jealous of his age and health, Singh produced a health certificate signed by a chief government doctor from Meerut in UP, that says his age is above 100, based on X-rays.

As he said that he doesn’t look 119 since he doesn’t walk with a stick and bent back, Singh described his health as his misfortune.

Despite doubts about his age, many see Singh as an inspiration, as he credits cow’s milk, herbal chutney and fruits ripened in sunlight along with abstinence from butter, fried food, sugar, alcohol, tobacco and even tea  for his health and age.

The authorities at the championship said that Singh will be allowed to compete in the 90-95 age category, but any records of his will not be validated while medals he wins will be awarded.