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Philip Rabinowitz is Officially the
Worlds Fastest Centenarian
It took two tries at the 100-meter dash but he
set the record today
 July
10, 2004 Philip Rabinowitz proved to the world today that he is the
fastest centenarian. At 100 years old he set a new official record today
in a 100-meter sprint at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.
He tried for the record last week but the official clock failed to
record the time.
He set a new mark of 30.86 seconds - almost six
seconds better than the previous record. Rabinowitz, who turned 100 in
February, says his next goal is to smash his own record.
The South African is already recognized by the
Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest competitive walker and at
100 years old he tried to set the record for the 100-meter run. He says
his time last Sunday was 28.7 seconds, beating the previous record of
36.1 seconds but a power failure kept the official clock from recording
the time..
He lives in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.
Rabinowitz was born in 1904, and regularly competes in races over 20 km
(12.42 miles). He was born in Lithuania but left for South Africa when
he was 21.
He was interviewed on National Public Radio this
week before setting the new record today - by Michele Norris on the
show All Things Considered. You can listen to this interview with the
centenarian who says he will just try again.
You can
Click Here for the audio or go to this page at NPR -
http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=3173018
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