World's Tallest Man

Sultan Kosen, who measures a staggering 8ft 1 in (246.5 cm) in height, has been handed the hallowed title of new ‘tallest man in the world.

Sultan is the first man over 8 ft (2.43 m) to be measured by Guinness World Record in over 20 years. Indeed, we know only of 10 confirmed or reliable cases in history of humans reaching 8 ft or more. To be totally sure of Sultan’s height, I travelled to Turkey in February this year to measure him personally. He’s an imposing figure, towering above all others, but at the same time a gentle, quiet man who’s totally relaxed and unfazed about his unique standing in the world.

Sultan is one of five, three brothers and one sister, and his family, including his mum and dad, are all ‘normal’ sized. Because of his extreme height he was never able to finish school but works occasionally as a farmer to support his family. He describes one of the advantages of being tall as being able to help out his mum out with jobs such as changing a broken light bulb and hanging curtains. 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.