Following the death of the world’s oldest person on Saturday, Japan’s 117-year-old Nabi Tajima, reports have been circulating around the world about the new title holder of ‘Oldest Woman in the World’, said to be Greek woman Katerina Karnarou.
While official documents and electronic records have confirmed Karnarou from Krestena in the Peloponnese to be 112 years old, turning 113 on July 25, she is not in fact the oldest woman in the world.
According to US-based Gerontology Research Group, another Japanese woman named Chiyo Yoshida is due to turn 117 in a matter of days, and according to their records, is in line for the title in the Guinness World Records.
Nonetheless, 112 is an impressive achievement. Karnarou has lived through Greece’s turbulent modern history, and survived her own personal ups and downs.
“I’ve been through sad times,” Karnarou told reporters.
“My husband died, my children died at a young age. Luckily, I had great in-laws. My son was in the navy, he was a brigade general. He came to Athens and bought a house. However, he died young and didn’t get to enjoy it.”