{ "id": "epem0dn194", "slug": "arul-swami", "title": "Arul Swami", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play" }, { "id": "play.individual", "label": "Individual sports and outdoor recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual" }, { "id": "play.individual.athletics", "label": "Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.athletics" }, { "id": "play.individual.athletics.athletics_people", "label": "Athletes of track and field and road running", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.athletics.athletics_people" }, { "id": "play.individual.athletics.athletics_people.road-marathon-and-ultramarathon-runners", "label": "Road, marathon, and ultramarathon runners", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.athletics.athletics_people.road-marathon-and-ultramarathon-runners" }, { "id": "play.individual.athletics.athletics_people.road-marathon-and-ultramarathon-runners.early-olympic-and-pioneering-marathoners", "label": "Early Olympic and pioneering marathoners", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/play.individual.athletics.athletics_people.road-marathon-and-ultramarathon-runners.early-olympic-and-pioneering-marathoners" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.play", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000: Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.play", "path": [ { "id": "geo.ind", "label": "India", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946", "label": "India · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.ind.t1946.play", "label": "Sports, games, and recreation", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.ind.t1946.play" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Arul Swami (Christopher Sebastian Arul Swami, 1913-1997), Indian marathon runner who finished 37th at the 1936 Berlin Olympics despite paratyphoid fever, later a sports journalist.", "snippet": "Arul Swami (Christopher Sebastian Arul Swami, 1913-1997), Indian marathon runner who finished 37th at the 1936 Berlin Olympics despite paratyphoid fever, later a sports journalist.", "node": "play.individual.athletics.athletics_people.road-marathon-and-ultramarathon-runners.early-olympic-and-pioneering-marathoners", "markdown": "# Arul Swami\n\n**Arul Swami** (Christopher Sebastian Arul Swami, 18 December 1913 – 23 October 1997) was an Indian long-distance runner who represented India in the men's marathon at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, finishing 37th, and who later worked for more than 40 years as a sports journalist.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Full name | Christopher Sebastian Arul Swami; used name Arul Swami[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) |\n| Born / died | 18 December 1913; 23 October 1997 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) |\n| Measurements | 165 cm / 54 kg[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) |\n| Olympic result | Marathon, men, 1936 Berlin: 37th of the 42 finishers, in 3:10:44[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) • [2](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14557865) |\n| Illness en route | Caught paratyphoid fever in Malta; spent three weeks in a Berlin hospital and lost almost 15 kg before racing[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) |\n| Later career | Football referee and sports journalist for more than 40 years; Chief Sports Editor at Indian Express until 1984[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) |\n\n## The 1936 Berlin marathon\n\nSwami's journey to the Games was eventful. He caught paratyphoid fever in Malta, and when he reached Berlin he was carried into the [Olympic Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/olympic-village) on a stretcher and transferred to a hospital, where he spent the next three weeks. Despite losing almost 15 kg, he convinced the doctors to discharge him so that he could compete in the marathon.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451)\n\nThe race was held on 9 August 1936 over 42,195 meters (26 miles, 385 yards) on an out-and-back course from the Olympiastadion, with 56 entrants from 27 countries.[3](https://www.olympedia.org/results/58231) Swami finished 37th of the 42 athletes who completed the course, in a time of 3:10:44, before collapsing and being taken back to the hospital. He made a full recovery.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) • [2](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14557865) The race was won by Kitei Son of Japan in 2:29:19.2, an Olympic record.[3](https://www.olympedia.org/results/58231)\n\n## Life after competition\n\nAfter his running career, Swami became a football referee and worked as a sports journalist for more than 40 years.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451) A 2024 Indian Express column by the sports writer Gulu Ezekiel, author of 17 sports books including *Great Indian Olympians*, noted the newspaper's own Olympic connection through its former sports editor.[4](https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/paris-olympics-2024-indian-athletes-a-french-love-story-9476134/)\n\n## Dates and name\n\nSources disagree on Swami's exact dates. Olympedia gives his birth as 18 December 1913 and his death as 23 October 1997 in [Coimbatore](https://www.edgepedia.org/coimbatore), aged 83 years, 10 months, and 5 days.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Arul Swami, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71451)\n2. [Arul SWAMI, World Athletics profile](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14557865)\n3. [Marathon, Men, Berlin 1936, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/results/58231)\n4. [Paris Olympics 2024: Indian athletes, a French love story, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/paris-olympics-2024-indian-athletes-a-french-love-story-9476134/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Road, marathon, and ultramarathon runners › Early Olympic and pioneering marathoners*\n\n*Initially written Oct 20, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Arul Swami\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Arul Swami](https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami](https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Arul Swami\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/arul-swami. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Arul Swami, Indian marathon runner who finished 37th at the 1936 Berlin Olympics despite paratyphoid fever, later a sports journalist." }