Ecuadorian woman, 116, is worldÕs oldest person

A 116-year-old Ecuadorian woman was declared the oldest person in the world on Friday, lifting the title from a U.S. woman previously was thought to be the oldest person alive, Guinness World Records said.

Maria Esther Capovilla was confirmed as the oldest living person after her family sent details of her birth and marriage certificates to Guinness World Records.

ÒWe only told her yesterday that she was the new Guinness world record holder,Ó Kate White, brand manager at the records publisher, told Reuters. ÒWe hadnÕt heard of her before.Ó

White added that Capovilla was in very good health. ÒSheÕs got good sight, is able to read the papers and watch television, and doesnÕt walk with a stick,Ó White said.

Capovilla was born in Guayaqull in western Ecuador on September 14, 1889, and lives there today with her daughter-in-law and son.

She had five children, and has four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1949.

White said Capovilla had been asked what she thought about the changes she had seen over her life.

ÒShe said she disliked the fact that, nowadays, it was acceptable for women to pursue men. And she said that every day she thanked God that she was alive,Ó White said.

As a girl at the turn of the century, one of CapovillaÕs favourite pastimes was going to parties, where she never drank alcohol.

In those days, it was the custom for women just to touch the rim of the glass with their lips without drinking, as a sign of their acceptance of hospitality, her family told Guinness World Records.

Elizabeth Bolden, from Memphis, Tennessee, born on August 15, 1890, had previously been regarded as the oldest living person.

Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, from Puerto Rico, born on August 21, 1891, is the worldÕs oldest living man, aged 114, says Guinness World Records.