The funeral procession of Shivnath Singh. Picture by Uma Shankar Dubey

Jamshedpur, June 6: The marathon man reached his last post today. The floral wreaths which welcomed him after his return from the Montreal Olympics wilted on his mortal remains. The marigolds lost their fragrance and freshness like the memories of yesteryears as his body lay in an obscure corner of the crematorium waiting to be consigned to flames.

Double Olympian Shivnath Singh, the athlete whom everyone wanted to rub shoulders with during his heydays, died a lonely man this morning after a protracted and painful battle with Hepatitis B. A few local athletes and some admirers accompanied him on his last journey.

Fifty-eight-year-old Singh, an Arjuna awardee, whose national marathon record (2 hours 11 minutes and 59 seconds) still remains unbroken was rushed to Tata Main Hospital after he vomited blood twice in the wee hours today. He died 10 minutes after he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Singh is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

“The medals which he had won in his long and distinguished career holds no relevance for us as people who were associated with him during his days of glory stayed away when he desperately needed them,” said a family member. “After seeing his fate, nobody would like to take up athletics as a career,” he added.

The lean and bearded Singh, who always ran barefoot, represented the country in the Montreal (1976) and Moscow Olympics in 1980. He stood 11th in the former and 21st in the latter. His national record in the marathon, achieved in Jalandhar in 1978, has not been shattered. He had represented the country in several international events, including the Asian Athletic Meet (Manila, 1973), Commonwealth Games (Canada, 1978), Asian Games (1974, 1978 and 1982). He was also honoured with the Vishist Seva Medal in 1975.

“We have lost a great athlete. The void created by his untimely death is difficult to fill,” said Bagicha Singh, an ace 1,500-metre runner and an Arjuna awardee. “This generous athlete once divided the Rs 10,000 he received from the Bihar government for his achievements among his team-mates. He handed over half the amount to colleague Satpal Singh, who had finished second in a marathon,” said T.T, John, an international marathon runner, very close to Singh.

“Had the government sent him to participate in Helsinki, London and Boston marathons, Singh would definitely would have done the country proud,” said Budhwa Oraon, who won a gold and a silver at the inaugural Police Games in Vancouver in 1989. “I have lost my elder brother. We had joined Tata Steel together in 1979,” said Satnam Singh, another international athlete.

The only assistance he got from the government was a petrol pump. The five-acre land promised to him by Bihar still remains a distant dream.