Until the advent of the airplane, the tallest person in the world was Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was born in the small city of Alton, Illinois. He was also known as the Alton Giant.
Robert Wadlow
Despite his unusual height, Robert Wadlow was a normal child. He had two average-sized siblings. He weighed 195 pounds when he was eight years old.
Robert Pershing Wadlow was born on February 22, 1918 in Alton, Illinois. He was the first child of Addie and Harold Wadlow. His two sisters were also normal-sized. When Robert was five years old, he stood five feet, four inches tall.
At eight years old, he stood six feet, two inches tall. In 1936, Wadlow graduated from Alton High School. At the age of 13, he became the world’s tallest Boy Scout.
At ten years of age, he weighed 210 pounds. He had a special uniform made for him.
In 1938, Wadlow began a promotional tour for the International Shoe Company. He traveled to 800 towns in 41 states. He was invited to luncheons by the Optimist and Rotary clubs. He also appeared on the balcony of the New York Stock Exchange. Men inside the stock exchange stopped trading when they saw Wadlow.
Wadlow drew large crowds everywhere he went. He became a local hero in Alton. A statue of him stands on College Avenue. The Alton Museum of History and Art has devoted a whole room to him. It still has pictures of the appearances that he made.
Wadlow was also a good photographer. He enjoyed stamp collecting. He was an active member of Troop 1 in Alton. He became Mason when he was 14 years old. He had regular checkups with doctors at Washington University School of Medicine. He stayed in hotels for most of his life. He died at age 32.
Robert Pershing Wadlow was the tallest person alive at the time he died. His casket was 10 feet long.
Sultan Kosen
Among the top three tallest men alive today is Sultan Koser, a Turkish man who stands at 8 feet, 3 inches. His height is caused by a condition called pituitary gigantism, which is a condition caused by too much growth hormone released by the pituitary gland in the brain. It can also cause painful joints and large hands.
Sultan Koser was born on 10 December 1982 in Mardin, Turkey. He is of Kurdish descent. He has three normal-sized siblings. He lives in a house in Dede koy, a village in the Derik district of Mardin. He works as a farmer to help support his family.
He also holds the record for the largest hands and feet of a living person. His right foot measures 35.5 centimeters and his left foot measures 36.5 centimeters. He is one of only ten people to exceed eight feet in height.
Sultan Koser is a part-time farmer. He likes to grow flowers in his garden. He also uses walking sticks to get around. He enjoys wearing specially tailored clothes. He also has to have his shoes custom-made. He has also travelled to 127 of the 195 countries in the world. He has also become an ambassador for the Turkiye.
He married a Syrian-born woman named Merve Dibo, who is 5 feet 9 inches tall. She was 10 years younger than he was. They married after they both met in Turkey.
He met a Russian woman named Zlata Ognevich, who was also over two and a half feet shorter than he was. They married in a wedding attended by local dignitaries and the Guinness World Records representative. They are divorced now.
Sultan has received life-saving medical treatment to stop his growth. He also has had a revolutionary gamma-knife surgery. The surgery removed the tumor from his pituitary gland, which had caused his growth.
Igor Vovkovinskiy
Having a life as the tallest man in the world might seem like a fairy tale. But in real life, Igor Vovkovinskiy faced daily challenges. He had problems fitting into desks, getting into cars, and finding clothing that was comfortable.
Vovkovinskiy was born in Bar, Ukraine, in 1982. He had a rare condition known as pituitary gigantism. This condition causes the pituitary gland to secrete excessive amounts of growth hormone. The growth hormone caused Vovkovinskiy to grow up to be 7 feet and 8 inches tall.
After his diagnosis, Vovkovinskiy sought treatment at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Doctors there said that Vovkovinskiy had a tumor pressing against his pituitary gland. This tumor caused his growth hormone levels to be abnormal.
The doctors at Mayo performed two surgeries to help save Vovkovinskiy. They inserted a wire loop on a stick into his pituitary gland. This allowed the surgeons to reach the gland and remove the tumor. Surgeons also reshaped his lower legs.
Vovkovinskiy became famous in the United States because of his size. In 2009, he was called out by then-president Barack Obama at a campaign rally. He wore a T-shirt reading, “World’s Biggest Obama Supporter.”
When Vovkovinskiy was a child, he came to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. His mother had a job at the clinic, so the family moved to Rochester. Igor studied at the city’s community college, where he earned a two-year degree. He attended John Marshall High School in Rochester. He also played basketball on the JV team.
In 2012, Igor put out a plea for special shoes. Thousands of people donated to help him get the shoes he needed. Rebook, a shoe manufacturer, designed a pair of custom shoes for Igor. They were valued at $25,000.
Bao
Xishun Bao, an Inner Mongolian herdsman, stands 7 feet 9 inches tall. He was formerly the tallest man in the world, but the title was lost to the Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk in 2006.
Bao has a daughter and a son, both from marriage. The son, born last week, is 22 inches tall. He was born at the Zunhua Hospital in Hebei Province. His mother, Xia Shujuan, gave birth to him through a Caesarean section. The baby weighed 4.2 kilograms. The Chinese press gave the newborn privacy.
Despite his new height, Bao Xishun still suffers from rheumatism. Doctors in Chifeng city reassured him that he was not suffering from gigantism. He is considered a normal person growing naturally. He has been measured by doctors for foot injury.
Bao has a long arm. His arms are 3.47 feet long. His hands are 1.06 meters long. His legs are failing. Despite this, he worked at a local hospital for several months.
Bao was born in 1951 to a herdsman’s family. He grew up in a simple life. His mother made clothes for him. He went to school. He joined the People’s Liberation Army. He played basketball. He was recruited by an army basketball coach. His mother was his primary caretaker.
In 2005, Bao was certified as the tallest man in the world. His height was measured on July 21, 2005, in his hometown. His height was 0.2 cm taller than Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia. He was over 10 inches shorter than the record height of 8 feet 11 inches held by Robert Wadlow.
Bao Xishun married Xia Shujuan last year. She is a five-foot-six saleswoman. The wedding was sponsored by at least fifteen companies.
Mehrzad
Despite his height, Mehrzad is considered the tallest Paralympics champion. He won a gold medal in Rio, and has been selected for the national team of Iran. He is also ranked as the top sitting volleyball player in the world.
Mehrzad has acromegaly, a condition that is triggered by too much growth hormone in the body. It also increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and visual disorders. In addition, it shortens the life expectancy of people who suffer from it.
At 16 years old, Mehrzad grew to nearly 1.9 meters tall. By the time he was 18, he was already at eight feet, one inch tall. But an accident in his teenage years broke his pelvis, preventing his right leg from growing. He is now six inches shorter on that leg, and uses a wheelchair. He is also considered the tallest man in Iran.
The acromegaly has also caused a decline in Mehrzad’s health. The youngster has been suffering from a serious pelvis fracture since he was 16. In an interview with a TV show, he revealed that he was depressed and lonely before he started playing sitting volleyball.
However, he managed to turn his difficulties into a stunning Paralympic career. In Rio, he scored a gold medal for Iran and was named the best player in the world. He helped the Iranian sitting volleyball team to an undefeated streak in the men’s game. Iran beat defending champions Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final. He also smashed an ace to seal the win.
After an accident, Mehrzad started playing sitting volleyball five years ago. He trained at regional clubs in Iran. He started playing in national teams in 2016. In his first tournament for Iran, he was ranked the top scorer. In the 2016 Paralympics, he scored two gold medals and was named the top sitting volleyball player in the world.