Oldest marathoner a fake?
Posted on Apr 17th 2008 10:30AM by Bev Sklar
There's no question Pierre Jean 'Buster' Martin completed the London Marathon in 10 hours last Sunday, but controversy is swirling whether he's the oldest marathoner on record at 101 years old. The record is currently held by Dimitrion Yordanidis, a Greek runner who completed a 1976 Athens marathon in a smokin' 7 hours, 33 minutes.
Guinness World Records is shunning Martin, they have evidence he's a youthful 94. Possibly an even more amazing feat than 26 miles, Martin is still working. An employee at Pimlico Plumbers, he's prominently displayed on their home page and raising fistfuls of money for the Rhys Daniels Trust, a charity supporting seriously ill children and their families.
There's speculation Pimlico is exploiting Martin -- Pimlico approached Guinness -- and enjoyed a strong corporate presence at the London Marathon and exposure from the hoopla surrounding Martin. Now the company is having trouble verifying Martin's age, but Pimlico claims their actions were on the up and up. Part of me doesn't even care -- hats off to a 94 or 101-year-old man who not only ran a marathon, he's raising big bucks for a worthy charity. Guinness or not, he's unforgettable in my book.
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