Sultan Kösen

Sultan Kösen (born 10 December 1982) is a Turkish man who holds the Guinness World Record for tallest living male at 251 centimetres (8 ft 2.82 in).[2]

Not to be confused with Kösem Sultan.
Sultan Kösen
Kösen in 2009
Born (1982-12-10) 10 December 1982[1][2]
Mardin, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
OccupationFarmer
Known forTallest living man
7th verified tallest person in history
Height2.51 m (8 ft 2 7⁄8 in)[2]
Spouse(s)
Merve Dibo
​
(m. 2013)​

Kösen's growth resulted from the condition acromegaly, caused by a tumour affecting his pituitary gland.[3] Due to his condition, he uses crutches to walk.[4]

Born to a Kurdish family in the southeastern Turkey city Mardin, he is the seventh tallest man in history.

Biography

Kösen, a Turkish man of ethnic Kurdish descent, was born in Mardin, a city in southeastern Turkey.[5][6][7] Kösen was unable to complete his education because of his height; he instead worked part-time as a farmer.[5][8] He describes the advantages of being tall as being able to see a great distance and being able to help his family with domestic tasks such as changing light bulbs and hanging curtains. He lists disadvantages as not being able to find clothes for his legs measuring 126 centimetres (49.61 in) and for his arms with a sleeve length measuring 97 centimetres (38.19 in) or shoes that fit, as well as finding it difficult to fit into an average-sized car.[9]

Starting in 2010, Kösen received Gamma Knife treatment for his pituitary tumour at the University of Virginia Medical School and was provided with medication to control his excessive levels of growth hormone. It was confirmed in March 2012 that the treatment had been effective in halting Kösen's growth.[10]

In October 2013, Kösen married Syrian-born Merve Dibo, who is ten years his junior.[11] In an interview, he said that his biggest problem with his wife is communication, as he spoke Turkish but his wife spoke only Arabic.[12]

On 13 November 2014, as part of Guinness World Records Day, Kösen met, for the first time, the world's shortest man ever, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, at an event in London.[13]

In 2014, Kösen joined the Magic Circus of Samoa and participated in various shows around the world.[14]

Records

On 25 August 2009, Kösen's standing height was recorded at 246.4 cm (8 ft 1 in) in his home country by Guinness World Records, overtaking former world record holder Bao Xishun who stands 236.1 cm (7 ft 8 15⁄16 in) tall.[15] Kösen also holds the current Guinness record for the largest hands at 27.5 cm (10 7⁄8 in), and the second largest feet at 36.5 cm (14 3⁄8 in) (left foot) and 35.5 cm (14 in) (right foot).[15]

On 25 August 2010, according to the University of Virginia, a height of up to 254.3 cm (8 ft 4 1⁄8 in) had been confirmed by doctors, who stated that this might be Kösen's actual height, artificially lowered by scoliosis and bad posture.[16]

On 9 February 2011, Kösen was remeasured by Guinness World Records at 251 cm (8 ft 2 7⁄8 in). They also remeasured his hands at 28 cm (11 in), which broke his previous record.[2]

References
  1. Guinness World Records 2009 page 73
  2. "Tallest man – Living". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. "Dangerous Growth Stopped for World's Tallest Man". Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  4. "Bodyshock – Episode Guide – All 4".
  5. "World's tallest man Sultan Kosen, marries in Turkey's Kurdistan". ekurd.net. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. "MEET THE WORLD'S TALLEST MAN!". Daily Sun. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  7. "Srbin među svim Golijatima sveta". Vesti Online. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  8. "World's tallest man September 2009". The Age. Melbourne.
  9. "Tallest man living". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 10 December 2020. Disadvantages to his height he lists include not being able to find clothes or shoes that fit or finding it extremely hard to fit into a regular size car.
  10. Jaslow, Ryan (13 March 2012). "World's tallest man, 29, finally stops growing with help from Va. doctors". CBS. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  11. "You may lean to kiss the bride: The tallest man on earth, Sultan Kösen, gets married". Hurriyet Daily News. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  12. "Sultan Kösen: Yalan haberler yüzünden yıpranıyorum". ILHA Agency. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  13. "World's tallest man comes eye to eye with world's smallest man for Guinness World Records' Day". Telegraph.co.uk. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  14. "Magic Circus to bring tallest man in world to Samoa". Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  15. "World's tallest man over 8ft high". BBC News. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  16. "Tallest man: 'Don't be afraid of me because I'm tall'". The Orange County Register.
Preceded by
Bao Xishun		 Tallest Recognized Person
17 September 2009 –		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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