Shivnath Singh (July 11, 1946 – June 6, 2003) was one of the greatest long-distance runners that India has produced. Singh represented India twice in the Asian games and twice at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

(1976 and 1980). He was born in Majharia,

Buxar Buxar is a nagar parishad city in the state of Bihar, India, sharing border with Balia and Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the eponymous Buxar district, as well as the headquarters of the community development ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

in India. He joined the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

in the Bihar Regiment and rose to the rank of Naib Subedar. He died on 6 June 2003 at

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...

, India after a prolonged illness. He still holds India's national record for the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

which he set in 1978. It is the longest standing Indian athletics record.

Career

He represented India at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

and placed 11th in the 1976 Olympic Men's Marathon. He dropped out of the 1980 Olympic Men's Marathon in Moscow. Shivnath Singh competed barefoot throughout his running career. He holds the Indian national marathon record with a best time (2:12:00), a feat that he achieved in

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

in 1978.

Achievements

References

External links

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Olympic results for India including Shivnath Singh in the listingsSingh's obituary at Times of IndiaSingh's obituary at Sunday Times of India, 8 June 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Shivnath 1946 births 2003 deaths Athletes from Bihar Indian male marathon runners Indian male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for India Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games