118-Year-Old Kane Tanaka Will Lead Olympic Flame In Japan

World's oldest living person, Kane Tanaka, aged 118, is all set to carry the Olympic torch this May in Japan. Not once, but Tanaka has battled the deadly disease of cancer twice, and has lived through two global pandemics. She loves fizzy drinks and will take the flame as it passes through Shime, Japan.

In a recent interview with CNN, Kane Tanaka said that her family gifted her a  new pair of sneakers for the event, on her birthday in January. Her grandson, Eiji Tanaka, who is in his 60s, said that he wants other people to feel inspired, and know that age is not a barrier when they look at the active lifestyle of Tanaka. Tanaka's family will push her in a wheelchair for most of her 100-meter (about 328 feet) or so leg, the supercentenarian, a person aged over 110 who is determined to walk the final few steps as she passes the torch to the next runner.

Previous record holders for the oldest Olympic torchbearers include Aida Gemanque of Brazil, who lit the torch at the 2016 Rio Summer Games at age 106, and table tennis player Alexander Kaptarenko, who ran with the torch in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games at 101 years old.

A little about Kane Tanaka 

Tanaka was born in 1903.  At the age of 19, she married a rice shop owner and went on to have four children with him. She worked in the family store until she was 103. Tanaka has survived two world wars and the 1918 Spanish flu, although her grandson Eiji said, "I don't remember her talking much about the past ... She's very forward-thinking, she really enjoys living in the present."

As a surprising fact, Tanaka is as old as the modern Olympic Games, which began in 1896, and this year's Olympics will be the 49th of her lifetime. Currently, she is living in a nursing home where she usually wakes at 6 am and enjoys playing the strategic board game, Othello. Tanaka's family has been trying to meet her for the last 18 months, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they cannot see her. Her family says that staying curious and doing math are her secrets to keeping the mind sharp and body healthy. Presently, she has five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Last month, the officials announced that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay would start in Fukushima prefecture on March 25, as it has been delayed this year due to the pandemic. Those who wish to view the relay from the roadside must wear masks, stay home if they feel unwell, and avoid stepping out from the area they live in. Spectators have also been told to "support with applause ... rather than by shouting or cheering." The relay will be streamed live online.

Image Credits- CNN