I recently saw that Milkha Singh, India's first great Track and Field Olympian died of Covid 19, on June 18, 2021 at the age of 91. Singh was a pioneer of Track and Field on the Indian Subcontinent. He placed 4th in the 1960 Olympic 400 meters when everyone in the race broke or tied the Olympic Record. Our friend Earl Young who was sixth in that race recalls:
"With the passing of Milkha there are three of us left from that awesome 400 in Rome. It was awesome that two finished in 44.9 and a new WR. I tied the then Olympic record and finished 6th on a six lane track. Hurts to say last having that be the only time in my life to experience that position, but oh what a view of the WR. .
Milka was and is such a famous and revered athlete in his country of India. I have had the opportunity to be with on many occasions with Indian nurses and doctors because of my bout with leukemia. I always take the opportunity to ask them if they ever heard of Milkha Singh. Always the say “ Oh,YES" and that opens the door to tell them of my experience with him.
Interestingly enough his son Jeev attended Abilene Christian University, my alma mater, in the 70’s and became a world class golfer. I understand that he was with Milkha then he passed as well as his mother who also passed with Covid before Milkha." Earl Young
Here is the video of that Rome 400. Rome 400 1960
The results of that 400 were:
1. Otis Davis USA 44.9
2. Karl Kaufman Germany 44.9
3, Malcolm Spence South Africa 45.5
4. Milkha Singh India 45.6
5. Manfred Kinder Germany 45.9
6. Earl Young USA 45.9
Biography from Olympedia website
The first great athletics champion from India, Milkha Singh, known as “The Flying Sikh,” just missed a medal at the 1960 Roma Olympics when he finished fourth in the 400 metres. Singh won four gold medals at the Asian Games in 1958 and 1962, winning the 200 and 400 in 1958, and the 400 and 4x400 relay in 1962. He also won gold in the 440 yards at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and competed at the 1956 and 1964 Olympics.
Singh was born in the village of Govindpura, now part of Pakistan. He became an orphan after his parents and three siblings were killed during the Partition of India, and Singh fled the area and moved to Delhi, where he joined a refugee camp and a resettlement colony. His brother convinced him to join the Army in the early 1950s, where he was introduced to athletics.
In 1962 Singh married Nirmal Kaur, captain of India’s volleyball team, and together they had three daughters and a son. Their son, Jeev Milkha Singh, became a professional golfer who joined the European Tour in 1998. In 2003 Singh founded the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust, created to assist poor and needy sportspeople. In 2013 he released his autobiography, The Race of My Life, which was turned into the feature film “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag”. In June 2021, Milkha Singh died after contracting COVID-19, only five days after his wife had also died from the virus.
Personal Bests: 200 – 20.7 (1960); 400 – 45.73 (1960).
Legendary Indian sprinter and three-time Olympian Milkha Singh, who was admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 related complications, has died. He was 91.
Two days after he was moved out of a COVID intensive care unit at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, Milkha Singh’s condition worsened on Friday and passed away late in the night.
His condition had turned critical late on Thursday after his oxygen levels dropped and he developed a fever. Milkha Singh was in the ICU.
Milkha Singh tested positive for the novel coronavirus on May 19 and was admitted to a hospital a few days later. He was later discharged and brought home after his condition improved, only to be readmitted again on June 4.
His wife and former Indian volleyball captain Nirmal Kaur contracted the virus on May 21. She died in a medical facility in Chandigarh due to COVID-related complications last Sunday. Nirmal was 85.
Known as the Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh dominated Indian track and field for over a decade in the 50s and 60s. He represented India at three Olympic Games; Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964.
At the Rome 1960 Olympics, Milkha Singh came within a photo finish of clinching a medal in the 400m race. He finished fourth with a time of 45.73s - a national record that stood for 40 years.
He was also India’s first gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games after he won the 440-yard race in Cardiff in 1958.
Milkha Singh is survived by a son, golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, and three daughters.
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