The population is getting older, but hardly anyone lives to be more than 100 years old. Who holds the age records? Five extraordinary people in profile.
Frankfurt am Main – There is a club where you don’t have to do anything to become a member. Really nothing. You just have to age for a very, very long time. So-called supercentenarians are people who are or have been over 110 years old. Supercentenarians are identified, verified and validated by an international association of researchers called the Gerontology Research Group. With such long life stories, these extraordinary people have a lot to tell. The mysteries of aging are being researched intensively and therefore the most important question naturally remains: How did the gentlemen and ladies make it to this old age in the first place?
The oldest living person in Germany: Charlotte Kretschmann
The oldest living person in Germany is Charlotte Kretschmann, who is over 112 years old. The senior told SWR : “If I no longer pay attention to my appearance, then it’s over with me”. According to her own statement, she “keeps mumbling about” and is still fit and active at 112.
As a survivor of two world wars, she has a lot to tell: During the Second World War, she fled to her future home in Baden-Württemberg and, with the help of the Red Cross, found her husband there, who had also survived the war. Today she lives in a retirement home in Kirchheim unter Teck. Another German is significantly younger, but still incredibly active for her age: Gertrud Degener is 84 and still runs a retirement home.
The oldest man alive: Jiroemon Kimura
Japanese Jiroemon Kimura is believed to be the oldest man of all time; He died in Kyoto in 2013 at the age of 116. At his death he was the last surviving man born in the 19th century.
According to Spiegel , he had seven children with his wife Yae Kimura and he attributes his long life to eating smaller portions (also called “hara hachi bu” in Japan).
The second oldest woman in the world: Tanaka Kane
Only recently, on April 19, 2022, Kane Tanaka passed away and remains the second oldest woman in the world for the time being. For years, the Japanese woman ran a rice cake business with her husband and son and loved playing the board game “Othello”.
According to Times Now , the converted Christian named her faith, her family, hope and math puzzles as reasons for her long life. At over 118, she became the oldest Japanese woman ever.
The oldest living woman in the world: Lucile Randon
Since Kane Tanaka’s death, Lucile Randon has become the oldest living person in the world. The nun with the religious name Sister André, who lives in Toulon, France, also tells Midi Libre that God is the reason for her long life: “God doesn’t want me.”
For many years, the Frenchwoman has been blind and dependent on a wheelchair. In 2021 she tested positive for Corona, but according to Euronews she survived the disease largely without symptoms. As the oldest nun in the world, she received a rosary blessed by Pope Francis.
The oldest woman in the world: Jeanne Calment
Nevertheless, Lucile Randon is not the oldest French woman in the world. Jeanne Calment still holds that title, the only person to ever live to be over 120 years old. This makes her the oldest person in the world. She survived both her daughter and her grandson, had met Vincent Van Gogh personally, according to Medium , and lived alone until almost her 110th birthday. Because loneliness in old age is an increasing problem in our society, HNA asked an expert about tips and strategies against it.
Jeanne Calment then lived according to a strict routine in the retirement home, which included cigarettes and port wine after every meal. Known for her sweet tooth, Jeanne Calment is said to have regularly eaten up to a kilogram of chocolate a week until her death in 1997. (loud)
