Shivnath Singh ran barefoot, came from a village in Bihar and served in the army. In 1974 he won Asian Games gold over 5000 metres, in 1976 he finished 11th in his first international marathon at the Montreal Olympics, and in 1978 he ran 2 hours 12 minutes in Jalandhar. That marathon time became the oldest national record in Indian athletics.
Name: Shivnath Singh
Born: 11 July 1946, Majharia, Buxar, Bihar
Died: 6 June 2003, Jamshedpur
Sport: Athletics
Events: 5000m, 10,000m, marathon
Bihar Regiment
Shivnath Singh was born on 11 July 1946 in Majharia village in Buxar district. He joined the Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army, and his running took off there. He won his first national title at 26. He was small and light, about 1.68 metres tall, and ran without shoes throughout his career.
Tehran 1974
At the 1973 Asian Championships in Marikina he took silver in the 5000m. The following year at the Asian Games in Tehran he won the 5000m gold in a Games record of about 14 minutes 20 seconds, and silver in the 10,000m. The Arjuna Award followed. His rivalry with Hari Chand ran through these years. At the 1975 Asian Championships in Seoul, Hari Chand beat him to the 10,000m title.
The move to the marathon
After Seoul he switched to the marathon. His first international race over the distance was the 1976 Olympic marathon in Montreal. He ran at the front for the first half and finished 11th in a field of more than 60, in about 2 hours 16 minutes. He was the first Indian to run the Olympic marathon.
In 1978 he ran 2:12:00 in Jalandhar. The record has survived for more than four decades. Writers have pointed out that the same time would have placed him fifth at Montreal and fourth at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In Moscow he started the marathon but did not finish.
Later life
After leaving the army as a Naib Subedar, he joined the security department of Tata Iron and Steel Company in Jamshedpur. He died at his home in Adityapur on 6 June 2003 after a long illness, aged 56. In 2026 the Bihar government announced plans to honour him as the state’s first Olympian.
Career record and honours
- Asian Games gold medal, 5000m: Tehran 1974
- Asian Games silver medal, 10,000m: Tehran 1974
- Asian Championships silver medal, 5000m: Marikina 1973
- 11th in the marathon, Montreal Olympics 1976
- Olympic appearances: Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980
- National marathon record: 2:12:00, Jalandhar 1978
- Arjuna Award
