Sultan Kösen

Not to be confused with Kösem Sultan.

Sultan Kösen
Kösen in 2009
Born (1982-12-10) 10 December 1982 (age 42)[1][2]
Mardin, Turkey
OccupationFarmer
Known forTallest living man
7th verified tallest person in history
Height251 cm (8 ft 3 in)
Spouse
Merve Dibo
​
​
(m. 2013; div. 2021)​

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

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

Biography

Kösen, a Turkish man of ethnic Kurdish descent, was born in the village of Alibey in Mardin Province of Turkey.[5][6] Kösen was unable to complete his education because of his height; he instead worked part-time as a farmer.[7][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 cm (49.61 in) and for his arms with a sleeve length measuring 97 cm (38.19 in) or shoes that fit (his once record-breaking length of 36.5 cm (14.4 in) for left and 35.5 cm (14.0 in) for right foot, whereas his hands are the longest measured in a living person at 28.5 cm (11.2 in)[9]), as well as finding it difficult to fit into an average-sized car.[10]

From 2002 to 2003, Kösen briefly played for Turkish basketball club Galatasary S.K.[11]

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 was effective in halting Kösen's growth.[12]

In October 2013, Kösen married Syrian-born Merve Dibo.[13] In an interview, he said that his biggest problem with his wife is communication. He speaks Turkish but his wife speaks only Arabic.[14] The pair divorced in 2021 citing the language barrier as one of the key problems.[15][16]

On 13 November 2014, as part of Guinness World Records Day, Kösen met, for the first time, the world's shortest man ever recorded, Chandra Bahadur Dangi (54.6 cm (1 ft 9+1⁄2 in), at an event in London.[17] The difference between their heights was 196.4 cm (6 ft 5.32 in).

In 2014, Kösen joined the Magic Circus of Samoa and participated in various shows around the world.[18]

In 2022, he celebrated his 40th birthday by visiting the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in Orlando, Florida, United States, and posing next to a life-sized statue of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever recorded, at 272 cm (8 ft 11.1 in).[19]

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.[20] Kösen also holds the current Guinness record for the largest hands, at 27.5 cm (10+7⁄8 in), and the second-largest feet: 36.5 cm (14+3⁄8 in) (left foot) and 35.5 cm (14 in) (right foot).[20]

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.[21]

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. ^ a b c "Tallest man – Living". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Dangerous Growth Stopped for World's Tallest Man". Live Science. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Kosen, 29, suffers from both gigantism and acromegaly, according to one of Kösen's doctors Mary Lee Vance, an endocrinologist who specializes in pituitary diseases at the University of Virginia Health System.
  4. ^ "Bodyshock – Episode Guide – All 4". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Meet the World's Tallest Man!". Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Sultan Kösen Biyografi" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  7. ^ "World's tallest man Sultan Kösen, marries in Turkey's Kurdistan". ekurd.net. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  8. ^ "World's tallest man September 2009". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Sultan Kösen: Tallest living man". Hall of Fame. Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Tallest man living". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. 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.
  11. ^ https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Sultan-Kosen/53965
  12. ^ Jaslow, Ryan (13 March 2012). "World's tallest man, 29, finally stops growing with help from Va. doctors". CBS. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  13. ^ "You may lean to kiss the bride: The tallest man on earth, Sultan Kösen, gets married". Hurriyet Daily News. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Sultan Kösen: Yalan haberler yüzünden yıpranıyorum". ILHA Agency. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  15. ^ "World's tallest man comes to Russia to find a new wife". NewsNPR. 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  16. ^ News Hub, Hindustani (23 December 2021). "The world's tallest man is in search of a wife, Russia reached to find a girl for marriage". Hindustani News. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  17. ^ "World's tallest man comes eye to eye with world's smallest man for Guinness World Records' Day". Telegraph.co.uk. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  18. ^ "Magic Circus to bring tallest man in world to Samoa". Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  19. ^ Sanj Atwal (8 December 2022). "World's tallest man, Sultan Kösen, celebrates 40th birthday". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  20. ^ a b "World's tallest man over 8ft high". BBC News. 17 September 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Tallest man: 'Don't be afraid of me because I'm tall'". The Orange County Register. 26 August 2010. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sultan Kösen.
Preceded by Tallest Recognized Person
17 September 2009 – 		Succeeded by
Incumbent