KATHMANDU, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Amid rivalry between a Japanese citizen and a Nepalese man to be the oldest climber on Mt. Qomolangma, Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura, 80, on Sunday declared that he is now the oldest person to scale the highest peak on earth (8,848 m) and he has best wishes for his Nepali competitor.
"I wish him all the best for his attempt," Miura conveyed his message to Nepalese mountaineer Min Bahadur Sherchan in a press conference organized in the Nepalese capital on Sunday.
The declaration was made at a time when Sherchan, 81, is attempting to break Miura's record on May 29, the 60th anniversary of man's first ascent on the highest point.
Miura is now 80 years and 7 months old.
Miura first set the world record of the oldest person on Qomolangma on May 22, 2003 while aged 70. This record was broken by Sherchan, aged 76, on 25 May, 2008.
If Sherchan, now 81 years and 11 months old, makes a successful ascend, he will break the 7-day-old record of Miura as being the oldest person on the tallest mountain.
However, Miura did not miss a chance to satire his old rival and said: "There are ice falls and crashes now. Summer has begun. It is difficult to make a climb from here onward."
Miura said he did not have any altitude sickness, stomach upset or headache indicating towards the news that Sherchan had been suffering from stomach upset and altitude sickness, to some extent.
Miura further said, to make a legitimate claim for a world record, Sherchan needs to verify his legitimate age and that he must take a clear picture standing on top of the world.
Miura, meanwhile, admitted that it would be probably his last Qomolangma ascent.
"Three times is enough," he said referring to his successful Qomolangma expeditions in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
"I am happy that I descended slowly and safely from the summit despite my heart ailment, for which I had to undergo surgery for four times. No one from my team was hurt," Miura said.
It took 30 hours for Miura to climb down the summit and reach Camp 2 at the height of 6,500 meters.
The moment Miura set the new record on May 23, the government of Nepal announced that it would fund the expedition of Sherchan to help him beat the record of the Japanese.
As Nepal is celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Qomolangma's first ascent in 1953 by New Zealand's Admund Hillary and Nepal's Tenzingg Norgay, Sherchan is expected to reach the summit as a part of the celebration on the same day on May 29.
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