Fauja Singh, the 100-year-old man who completed the Toronto Marathon, is being denied his place in the Guinness World Records. Guinness says he has not been able to produce a birth certificate, which it requires to certify a record.
But Singh has a passport and a letter from the Queen of England herself congratulating him on his 100th birthday.
, which broke the story, today:
Fauja Singh is said to hold a number of world records, but the BBC's programme has learned that none of these records has been ratified by Guinness World Records.
His British passport, showing his date of birth as being 1 April 1911, as well as a letter from the Queen congratulating Mr Singh on his 100th birthday, have been shown to the organisation. But it says these are not considered sufficient proof of age.
A letter from Indian government officials stating that no birth records were kept in 1911, and a statement from a former neighbour in India, have also been passed to Guinness World Records, but the organisation says these too are not evidence enough.
If you need a refresher, that Singh, an Indian-born British citizen, had run the 26.2 miles in just over 8 hours, 11 minutes.
Over at Runner's World, for daring to slow down the Turbaned Tornado.
"A letter from the Queenisn't sufficient?" Remy writes. "Come on! Just... look at him! He's gotta be 100 years old! At least! Did you not see the man's beard?"
If Guinness can't be moved, , his record will likely be recognized by World Masters Athletics.
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