Antisa Khvichava Dead: 'World's Oldest Person' Dies, But Was She Really 132?

'World's Oldest Person' Dies, But Was She Really 132?

An elderly woman from Georgia, who claimed she was 132 years old, has died. Her death has ignited a series of questions because, if her claim was true, she would have been the world's oldest person.

Antisa Khvichava claimed to have been born on July 8, 1880, according to The Independent. She lived in the remote Georgian village of Sachino and reportedly had 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. She said she retired from her job as a tea and corn picker in 1965 at the age of 85. Khvichava credited her longevity and healthfulness to drinking a bit of brandy every day.

Khvichava first laid claim to the title of "World's Oldest Person" back in 2010 when authorities from Georgia's national register said she had turned 130, Australia's News reported.

Still, many have questioned if she really is the "World's Oldest Person."

Khvichava claimed her original birth certificate was lost during the years of war that ravaged her homeland, according to The Independent. Her Soviet-era passport and other documentation state 1880 as her birthdate, but experts are skeptical over Khvichava's claim since the documents recording her age were created well after her birth.

If Khvichava truly was 132 years old when she died, that means her 72-year-old son Mikhail would have been born when she was 60, according to the Herald Sun. She would have been 31 when the Titanic sank.

Avtandil Sulaberidze, director of the Institute of Sociology and Demography in Tbilisi, says that residents of Georgia have been known to submit false information to secure pension payments and other government assistance, EurasiaNet reported. Simon Dalakishvili, head of the department of gerontology and palliative medicine at the Natishvili Institute of Morphology in Tbilisi, added that, as of 2010, Georgia had less than 500 centenarians and only eight people over the age of 115.

If her claims are true, Khvichava's 132 years surpasses the world's oldest people by over a decade.

The world's oldest person ever recorded was a French woman named Jeanne Calment who lived to 122. She "used to eat more than two pounds of chocolate a week and treat her skin with olive oil, rode a bicycle until she was 100, and only quit smoking five years ago," the New York Times reported.

Besse Cooper was dubbed the oldest living person on earth by the Guinness Book of World Records in January 2011. Born on August 26, 1896, in Tennessee, she turned 116 in August. Jiroemon Kimura of Japan is the world's oldest living man. He turned 115 in April, ABC 2 News reported, and credits his impressive lifespan to small portions.

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