London – At 8ft 1in tall, he stands head and shoulders above the competition, proving a tall order for Sultan Kosen. Yesterday, as the 27-year-old Turk officially claimed the record of the world’s tallest man.
Mr Kosen’s hands measure 10.8in across and his feet are 13.7in long – which are also world records.
The farmer, whose height is due to a condition called pituitary gigantism, is one of only ten people ever to top 8ft and the first in a decade. The gentle giant grew normally until he was ten but a tumour then caused him to develop the medical condition.
When other children were little more than 4ft, he was already well over 6ft.
‘The kids used to tease me and I found that very difficult,’ he said. ‘But now I am really proud of being tall.’
The tumour was removed last year and his growth stopped.
Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said: ‘We only know of ten confirmed or reliable cases in history of humans reaching 8ft or more.
‘Sultan’s an imposing figure, but a gentle, quiet man who’s totally relaxed and unfazed about his unique standing in the world.
‘It’s a pleasure to welcome him into the Guinness World Records family and celebrate his mark as one of the most important record holders of this decade.’
(Source: Mail Online UK)
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He would also lower the fees for going across London Bridge.
Leonid Ivanovych Stadnyk (Ukrainian: Леонід Іванович Стадник), (born 1971 in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR) is a living man renowned for his stature. He was formerly listed as the world’s tallest living man according to Guinness World Records.[1] On August 20, 2008, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, Craig Glenday, announced that the title of world’s tallest man had been returned to China’s Bao Xishun after Stadnyk refused to be measured under new guidelines, which required him to be independently measured by Guinness World Records adjudicators.[2]
On August 8, 2007, Guinness book’s spokeswoman Amarilis Espinoza stated that in the 2008 edition of the record book, Mr Stadnyk appeared to be taller than Bao Xishun, a native of Inner Mongolia in China who stands 2.36 m (7 ft 8.9 in). Although he held the title for a few months, Stadnyk refused to be measured and was consequently denied the GWR recognition. Others have questioned the legitimacy of his record, noting that Stadnyk has never been officially measured by Guinness World Records, only by the “Ukrainian Book of Records” that says that he measures 2.54 m (8 ft 4.0 in), and that the doctor originally credited by Guinness with confirming Stadnyk’s height has denied ever measuring him.[3]
Stadnyk’s excessive growth began after brain surgery when he was 12 years old. He developed a pituitary gland tumor which caused the gland to secrete large amounts of growth hormone, resulting in what doctors describe as acromegalic gigantism. Twenty years after the surgery, the doctors have discovered the tumour had mysteriously disappeared and he is currently healthy. A Pravda news report in Spring 2006 reported that Stadnyk grew 2 cm (0.79 in) in the previous year, not accounting the time between the original Spring 2004 report and Spring 2005. According to Pravda, his health is slowly failing in that he needs to hold on to limbs of trees and the side of his house to walk about. His recorded weight is 200 kg (440 lb).
He is a certified veterinarian and veterinary surgeon and lives with his mother in the village of Podolyantsi, Ukraine.
According to some reports he is already at 8’6 and still growing. Just google his name. Another link to look at. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/leonid-stadnik-the-worlds-tallest-man-508738.html
record shmeckord!! my bubby always used to say that when she did a chessed she felt 10 feet tall!
#1, that was so corny, that when you go to Tashlich next week, you’ll need to use corn bread.
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According to the Medrash, Gulyos, who Dovid Hamelech killed was 13 feet tall. That would make all these 8 footers look like midgets. A כתיבה וחתימה to all of Klal Yisroel.