Indian Olympian Surat Singh Mathur, the first athlete from independent India to complete a marathon at the Olympic Games, passed away in Delhi on Friday. He was 90 years old.
Running with the legendary Czech long distance runner Emil Zatopek at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Mathur completed the marathon race in the 52nd place at a timing of 2:58.92s.
A bronze medallist at the first ever Asian Games back in 1951, Surat Singh Mathur, who was born in the Mohammadpur Majri village (Karala) of Delhi, was also a two-time national champion.
