Wonders of the world are so many. And if you would ask me to name some, the wonder of the tallest person alive in the world right now would clinch a place on the list.
In many gone years, different guys around the world have claimed this famous title. You only need to revert back to the period between 1918 – 1940 to learn of the ever tallest confirmed person to have lived – Robert Wadlow.
The giant was a whopping 8 feet 11 inches tall!
Then further back in 1868/82, John Rogan, an African-American man measured 8 feet 9 inches. He was the tallest during that time.
Another was John F. Carroll who had this record in 1932/69. The guy was at an incredible height of 8 feet 7.5 inches and it’s reported he didn’t stop growing until he died.
Other guys to have entered in the Guinness Book of records included; Vaino Myllrinne (8 ft,3 in), Edouard Beaupre, Canada (8 ft 3 in), Benard Coyne, America (8ft 2 in) among others.
Back to our question, who is the tallest person in the world right now?
The current record holder who’s been confirmed and documented in the Guinness World record book is a 36-year-old Turkish man, Sultan Kosen.
Kosen may not be the tallest ever to have lived, but at 8 feet 3 inches, no one beats him at the moment.
It’s not been just men who have graced the Guinness World Record book. Even women have. And as we speak, a certain woman called Yao Defen claimed to be the world’s tallest woman at 7 feet 8 inches.
Unfortunately, Yao died in November, 2012 with the cause of her death remaining unknown.
So, what then makes these guys grow such tall? In other words, do they experience the ordinary normal growth?
The closest answer to this question could be a no. And, all these guys had attached conditions – the most common being over-production of growth hormones well known as pituitary gigantism.
Who Is The Tallest Person In The World Right Now?
The tallest person in the world right now is a male known by the name Sultan Kosen. Sultan measures 8 feet 3 inches high. He was born on December 10, 1982 in Mardin, Turkey.
Who Is The Tallest Man In The World Today?
There are not many men in the history of the tallest person in the world right now. But Sultan Kosen has really continued the talk regarding the tallest people.
It was back in 2009 that Sultan snatched the record-breaking title of the tallest person in the world.
At an alarming height of 8 feet 3 inches, the impression to the Guinness World Records was ultimate – they couldn’t do any better than documenting him.
His Early Life
Sultan was born the family of five; three brothers and one sister. You may be wondering whether his siblings and parents are giants too – but no, they are nowhere close to him. Just average-sized people.
Up until the age of 10, Sultan was growing just normally like other kids. Thereafter, his growth would then immediately spurt that he rose to over six feet tall.
With such unexpected height, he could not continue his education. What he did was to sit back home and help his parents with farming and other domestic duties.
You’d probably agree that challenges were going to come his way at such heights. And unsurprisingly, he admits that apart from being able to reach to heights other people couldn’t (to fix light bulbs and hang curtains for his parents), there were no clothes, no shoes or even a car he’d fit in.
Why Is He Such Extremely Tall?
This is a good question to ask yourself.
Nonetheless, there is a condition called acromegaly. It is caused by a tumor that grows on the pituitary gland.
For Sultan who is the tallest man in the world right now, this was found to be the main factor for his extreme height. He had this tumor. And, possibly many others who came before him suffered the same condition.
Because he kept on growing, with no signs to stop, there was an attempt to remove the tumor in 2008. This was not successful after all.
That would mean more efforts and more creativity in 2010. University of Virginia doctors used the “gamma knife” technology to cut out the tumor in order to stop this dangerous growth.
In humans, acromegaly results to exaggerated growth. This situation then eventually leads to very extreme heights.
You may need to know that when the growth hormones are over-produced, one will experience terrific growth and hence this height.
His Previous and Current Work
Sultan Kosen is known almost everywhere on earth. Thanks to his record-breaking 8 feet 3 inches height.
Initially, he worked on his farm supporting his parents ahead of his imminent fame. He has worked with the Magic Circus of Samoa, entertaining audiences around the world through circus shows.
He also got an opportunity to star in a debut role in “Achieving the Impossible” Hollywood film. This was 2016.
Marriage Life
At some point Sultan expressed himself: “I want what everyone else wants. A wife, a family, a nice home…”
In 2009 in London, he openly talked about his woes to get a girlfriend. And, he disclosed his dream of one day getting married.
He said, “It’s really difficult to find a girlfriend. They are usually scared of me. Hopefully now that I am famous I’ll be able to meet lots of girls. My dream is to be married.”
Then came the time for his dream to be fulfilled. In October 2013, he got married to Merve Dibo, a Syrian woman standing at 5 feet 9 inches and 10 years younger than him.
He didn’t actually marry the world tallest woman as you can see.
A colorful wedding to usher the couple in the new marriage life was done. Many people, in excess of 1500, attended the event.
His wife wouldn’t also hide her delight. She said: “At first, everyone around me told advised me not marry him because of his height, but I fell in love with his heart, not his height. His height doesn’t bother me at all.”
The biggest challenge Sultan faced when he married was communication with his wife. While he speaks Turkish and Kurdish, the Syrian-born wife only spoke Arabic.
The couple lives in their special home in Dede koy.
The Records Under Him
As the tallest man alive, Sultan has lived a life of breaking records.
- He was found to be 8 feet 1.01 inches tall, in 2009.
- He later in 2011 broke this record himself when he measured 8 feet 2.82 inches tall.
- He has the largest hands in the world, measuring 27.5 cm long.
- His feet are the second largest in the world at 36.5 cm (left) and 35.5 cm (right).
All these records are Guinness World Records.
Who Is The Tallest Woman In The World Right Now?
Is there a more difficult question like “how tall is the tallest woman in the world”? Especially the one alive in 2018?
When it comes to the tallest woman alive, it takes some time to find out. However, Sun Fan makes the cut. At 7 feet 3 inches, the Chinese woman will definitely take this title.
She is not a popular figure around the world. But being the tallest living woman in China, her height is currently unmatched by any other women anywhere on earth.
She’s been mistaken on several occasions to be the now belated Yao Defen. Yao was the previous holder of the Guinness World Record tallest living woman until she died in November 2012.
During her higher education, Sun joined and studied at Wuhan University in China. She also undertook a Diploma in Economic Management.
Her hobbies include sports – particularly playing tennis and squash. Music is the other thing she likes so much.
No much information exists about Sun Fan.
The tallest woman ever was Zeng Jinlian who measured 8 feet 1.75 inches. She was a Chinese and lived only 17 years.
Top 10 Tallest People In The World
How many tall people do you know around the world? Perhaps you have a few names with you.
I have also talked about the tallest living man in the name of Sultan Kosen. But to get to know many more, especially the top 10 and the countries they come from, read through the following table.
This table consists only of the top 10 among the living people; dead tall men have not been included.
Also, note that the names appearing in here are those of the men whose height measurements were confirmed. Names arranged from the tallest of all.
Name | Height in (cm) | Height in (Ft/In) | Country | Description | Year of Birth/Age | |||||||||
1. | Sultan Kosen | 251 cm | 8 ft 2.8 in | Turkey | Currently the tallest man in the world | 1982
36 years |
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2.
|
Brahim
Takioullah |
246 cm | 8 ft 1 in | Morocco | Tallest man in Africa. His feet are the largest in the world | 1982
36 years |
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3. |
Morteza Mehrad | 246 cm | 8 ft 1 in | Iran | Took part in the Rio 2016 Paralympic games – won gold medal | 1987
31 years |
||||||||
4. |
Dharmendra Pratap Singh | 246 cm | 8 ft 1 in | India | The tallest man in India. Has struggled to get a girl friend | 1983
35 years |
||||||||
5. | Zhang Juncai | 242 cm | 7 ft 11¼ in
|
China | The tallest man in China | 1966
52 years |
||||||||
6. | Asadulla Khan | 241 cm | 7 ft 11 in | India | He is the second tallest man in India | 1988
30 years |
||||||||
7.
|
Naseer Soomro | 238 cm | 7 ft 10 in | Pakistan | The tallest man in Pakistan | 1975
43 years |
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8. | Bao Xishun | 236 cm | 7 ft 9 in | China | Once the tallest living man in the world until 2009. | 1951
57 years |
||||||||
9. | Sun Mingming | 236 cm | 7 ft 9 in | China | Professional basketballer Perhaps the tallest basketballer in the world | 1983
35 years |
||||||||
10. | Radhouane Charbib | 236 cm | 7 ft 9 in | Tunisia | Held the title of the Guinness World Record tallest living man until 2005 | 1968
50 years |
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Most of these guys had the problem of tumor growth on their pituitary glands in the brain.
Who Is The Tallest Teenager In The World?
The next tallest person in the world alive title is going to see more contenders in the nearest future. Some teens are coming up too fast.
Perhaps one of them is Brandon Marshall – a 16-year-old British boy measuring 7 feet 4 inches. You can bet he is still growing taller.
The doctors have already reported that he is indeed still growing.
He was growing normally up until when he reached 9. Then he rose up rapidly to hit 6 feet 11 inches by the time he was 13 years old.
As if that was not enough, the rate of growth increased even more after 13. This is what he said: “When I was in year nine, I got 6 feet, 7 inches. And in year 10, I got to 7 feet.”
Here are a few challenges with his height;
- Struggling at the doorways when entering the house;
- Struggles with house ceiling;
- Needs a really super large bed
- Takes in so many calories (8000) in a day causing the mother to keep the fridge loaded with enough food.
- He might as well find his bedroom not spacious enough for him very soon (this is his mother’s stance).
Marshall is a student at Bury St Edmunds- Suffolk and is a passionate Basketball player. He plays both for the Bury Bulldogs, a national league basketball side and the Welsh national basketball team.
Why Is He Growing Tall?
Well. It’s not been determined yet as the doctors are still studying his genetics. He tested negative for the Marfan syndrome.
However, some tests conducted previously indicated that he was missing chromosome 12. This a chromosome responsible for inhibiting further growth.
Marshall’s Family
Marshall lives with his mother and father who are 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet 10 inches respectively. His older brother at the age of 30, measures 6 feet 4 inches, and the sister stands at 5 feet 6 inches.
Who Is The Tallest Basketball Player In The World?
Basketball is a game where height is a compulsory requirement. As a professional player, you’re not just needed to be tall; your average height should be around 6 feet 7 inches.
This doesn’t imply that short basketball players have never been there. Even Tyron Bogues at 5 feet 3 inches, was the shortest player confirmed to play in the NBA league – and he rocked the defence like hell!
Back to the tallest basketball player.
If someone inquired who is the tallest person in the world right now in the basketball sports category, Gheorghe Muresan would come in first place.
The name Gheorghe Dumitru Muresan has been famous since 1993 when he began his career.
He was born in 1971 in Romania with normal-sized parents. He measures 7 feet 7 inches tall and is currently a retired basketball player.
Actually, he is the tallest ever in the history of basketball.
He is married to Liliane and the couple had two sons; George and Victor. He resides in Washington D.C.
The Basketball Career
He began his Basketball career at the Cluj University, made his way through the French league at Pau-Orthez in 1993. He took the French league by storm.
He would then sign for the NBA with the Washington Bullets and later with New Jersey. He went back to France to play for Pau-Orthez again.
He retired in 2006 while playing with Maryland Nighthawks in the ABA.
The Final Shot
Clearly speaking the tallest man on earth height has kept on changing across the different decades. At 8 feet 3 inches, the title belongs to Sultan Kosen – a Turkish man.
While height can be rewarding, it is not a nice overall story for the tallest people on earth. In fact, the excessive height is due to over-production of growth hormones and is not safe.
This condition makes a tumor to grow on the pituitary gland. Thus someone grows to dangerous heights.
All tall people (men and women) have to deal with the associated problems. Many have reported finding marriage partners difficult, others using the average-sized facilities, without forgetting the case of clothing.
These people need support from both the local and international community. They must not be left on their own – and this includes anyone who is the tallest in the world. Right now, if we are not careful, these people may just fall in the category of the marginalized community.