Sultan Kosen – World’s Tallest Man
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
The Guinness Book of World Records has updated its record for the World’s Tallest Man. Sultan Kosen from Mardin in eastern Turkey is 8ft 1in tall. That’s almost 2.5 meters, or 2.47 to be precise. That’s a lot of height for one man. And as you can see from the picture above, being this tall is not easy. The knees of Sultan Kosen are weakened due to his height which requires him to use crutches for walking.
Sultan Kosen, the world’s tallest man is only 26 year old and has three brothers and one sister. His way to the Guinness Book of World Records led through the application to become the tallest man in Turkey. After he was officially measured by Turkish officials, it was found out that Sultan Kosen is actually 10 cm taller than a person currently listed as the World’s Tallest Man in the Guinness Book of World Records – Bao Xishun.
The title of the World’s Tallest Man was handed over to Sultan Kosen in London, UK where he confessed he’s hoping this publicity will hook him up with a girlfriend. Being this tall makes it hard for the man to get laid. He’s also hoping to buy a car he could fit into, but he’s primarily hoping for a girlfriend so he could get married. I guess in Turkey, which is predominantly Islamic country, a guy who’s 26 and not yet married is looked down upon. Muslims rock like that.
As if not getting laid and having bad knees due to his height weren’t enough, Sultan Kosen also has troubles finding clutches that would fit. He also had to get himself a custom made suit to wear for his ceremony in London.
Luckily for him, Sultan Kosen got two seats all for himself on a plane to London. Guinness Book of World Record officials didn’t cheap out on him to bring him there. Which having such impressive height can seem enviable, he surely faces many issues we the average folk don’t even know exist.
As most giants, Sultan Kosen grew this tall due to a medical condition – pituitary gigantism. The condition developed due to a tumor, which was successfully removed last year and his further growth was stopped. Otherwise he’d continue to grow. Editor’s Note – do they have such tumors that affect manhood?
According to Guinness Book of World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday, in history of human kind there have only been 10 reliably documented cases of people who were over 8 feet tall. Sultan Kosen is one of them.
While Sultan Kosen is officially the World’s Tallest Man, there is allegedly one other who’s taller. Leonid Stadnyk from Ukraine reportedly measures 8 feet 5.5 inches (2.57 meters) but his spot in the Guinness Book of World Records has been rejected because he’s declined to have his height officially measured. Go Sultan Kosen!
