World’s oldest man celebrates birthday

16 December 2003

MENORCA – The world’s oldest man, Joan Riudavets Moll, celebrated his 114th birthday in his home town on the island of Menorca, it was reported Tuesday.

The Spaniard is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living man whose date of birth can be fully authenticated.

Riudavets gained the title after the death in September of another 114-year-old, Japan’s Yukichi Chuganji, Spanish television reported.

Born on 15 December 1889, Riudavets made his entrance in the same year as Charlie Chaplin, not long after the Eiffel Tower was completed.

And as his mother died in the month he was born, he may also hold the world record for surviving a parent.

His father was a cobbler – he exported shoes to the then Spanish colony of Cuba – and Riudavets followed in the family business until his retirement in 1954.

He has two surviving brothers aged 104 and 98, plus a large family.

And the secret of his longevity? “Living life in moderation,” says Guinness World Records.

“He smoked but not too much, and he likes to eat a little but often.”

Riudavets has “a typically Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, tomatoes, fish and bread,” Guinness World Records says.

And he also enjoyed an “active life, playing a lot of football – as well as singing and playing the guitar”.

Health is the most important thing to him, Riudavets says, adding he likes to take things one day at a time.

“All I need is one day more, and if I get another year, then all the better,” he says.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news