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{{short description|Indian marathon runner}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dharampal Singh Gudha
| image = Dharampal singh gudha after finishing his race.jpg
| caption = Dharampal Singh Gujjar Gudha after finishing his race
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Meerut]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Farmer
| known for = Claiming to be the oldest running athlete in the world at 120<ref>{{cite web|title=116-year-old man to participate in Asian Masters track meet|url=http://www.dramafever.com/news/116-year-old-man-to-participate-in-asian-masters-track-meet|website=dramafever.com|accessdate=19 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Meet 116 years old Dharampal Singh Gujjar, world's oldest athlete|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/videos/meet-116-years-old-dharampal-singh-gujjarworlds-oldest-athlete_1473477.html|website=zeenews.india.com|accessdate=19 February 2017|language=en|date=21 September 2014}}</ref>
| spouse =
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}}
'''Dharampal Singh Gudha''', also known as '''Dharam Pal Singh''' or '''Dharampal Singh Gujjar''', is an Indian runner who has controversially claimed to be the world's oldest [[marathon]] runner at 120.<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/sports/119-year-old-runner-world-masters-championships.html "Still Running at 119? Not So Fast"] by Jeré Longman and Hari Kumar, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 16 November 2016</ref>

==Life==
Gudha claims to have been born on 6 October 1897, comes from the village of [[Meerut district|Gudha, Meerut]], and is a farmer by [[Occupation (human activity)|occupation]]. He claims to have been running since he was a teenager.<ref name="nytimes.com" /><ref name=":1" />

"When I was young, I used to run from my village to the neighboring village, which was about 600 to 700 meters away. I would run several laps. I did not know how to run then, the technique of it, but I did it on instinct," he says. He gets up at 4 am and runs four kilometers daily. He takes part in Inter-State level races for Veterans in the 100, 200- and 400-meter categories. To date, Gujjar has taken part in more than three dozen races in different parts of the country.<ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com">{{Cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Worlds-oldest-Marathoner-claims-he-is-116-flaunts-PAN/articleshow/24769881.cms|title=World's oldest? Marathoner claims he is 116, flaunts PAN - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2017-09-01}}</ref><ref name="oneindia.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.oneindia.com/india/meerut-116-year-old-finishes-200-meters-in-seconds-wins-gold-1403189.html|title=Meerut: 116-year old finishes 200 metres in 46.74 secs, wins Gold|date=27 February 2014|publisher=}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=116-yr-old Indian farmer Dharmapal Gujjar 'sprints' to glory – NDTV Sports|url=http://sports.ndtv.com/athletics/news/221351-116-yr-old-indian-farmer-sprints-to-glory|website=NDTVSports.com|accessdate=19 February 2017}}</ref>

Gudha has lost count of the number of marathons that he has run. However, he recollects running at marathons in [[Allahabad]], [[Nainital]], [[Uttarakhand]] and [[Chandigarh]], and claims to have run in 50 others. He states that he ran his first marathon in 1970.

In 2017, [[National Geographic (U.S. TV channel)|National Geographic]] did a special episode in their ''[[National Geographic Explorer|Explorer]]'' series investigating his life and success as a runner at such an advanced age.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Going the Distance|date=2017-06-29|url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/explorer/videos/going-the-distance/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703164551/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/explorer/videos/going-the-distance/|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2017|language=en|accessdate=2017-07-31}}</ref>

When asked about his continued fitness, he says it is all about having a controlled diet. He has led a strict healthy lifestyle since childhood. He gives credit to his balanced diet of self-prepared [[chutney]] along with mineral water and lemon juice for his longevity. "I eat a strict and balanced diet and have no illness. I stopped eating [[ghee]] and other fatty items almost 40 years ago, neither do I drink or smoke," he said. He has been a strict vegetarian since birth.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/athletics/still-running-fast-at-119-years-meet-dharam-pal-singh-an-indian-cow-herder-who-will-compete-at-world-masters-athletics-championships|title=Still running fast at 119 years - Meet Dharam Pal Singh, an Indian cow herder who will compete at World Masters Athletics Championships|date=2016-11-17|access-date=2017-07-31}}</ref>

==Film==

An [[United States|American]] film director, [[David Freid]], has made a documentary on DharamPal Singh Gujjar, ''The Never-Ending Marathon of Mr. Dharam Singh'', in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7307294/ |title=The Never-Ending Marathon of Mr. Dharam Singh (2017) |website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref>

==Controversy==
Gudha's claims of being 120 years old has generated much controversy. While Gudha refers to his passport, voter ID Card and PAN card [a tax identification in India]—all stating 1897 as his year of birth, and all three government of India-issued valid identity documents—asserting he is 120 years old, he does not have a birth certificate to prove this age.<ref name="nytimes.com" />

It has been suggested that Gudha has an old voter ID that has not been corrected in order to "hide his age".<ref name="nytimes.com" /> Yet, with the passport and PAN card corroborating the birth date and hence his story, there is no certainty.

Kurt Kaschke, president of European Masters Athletics, expressed the difficulty with proving ages of people in a certain age group. In a letter to Ken Stone, editor and founder of MasterTrack, Kaschke outlined some of the difficulties officials face in verifying the ages of some of their oldest runners: "Was a birth certificate valid if the original no longer existed? What should be done about athletes born during the First or Second World War, when many records were destroyed? How could a birth date be proved when a government was not able to verify a birth on a particular day? Or when a country did not issue birth certificates?"<ref name="nytimes.com" /> This is a problem commonly faced by competitors from countries of Africa and Asia, including India.<ref name="nytimes.com" />

==Awards==
Gudha has won more than 20 medals in national and international athletic events in his age category, including a gold medal in the Malaysian Championships in 2014.

==References==
{{reflist|34em}}


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gudha, Dharampal singh}}
[[Category:Indian men marathon runners]]
[[Category:Athletes from Uttar Pradesh]]

Dharampal Singh Gudha - Revision history

Samyakk clothing at 22:39, 28 November 2025