LONDON: Sultan Kosen, who at 8ft 3 inches is the world’s tallest man, got married on Sunday in his hometown of Mardin in Turkey.
Kosen, who is 30 years old, entered the Guinness Book of Records in 2009 by growing taller than Bao Xishun of China who is 7ft 9 ins tall.
Kosen’s 20-year-old wife Merve Dibo is just 5ft 8 ins tall, and she comes from the town of Hasaka in Syria.
Thus, Kosen, who has been struggling to find a bride for a long time, is 31 inches taller than his wife.
When Kosen walked down the aisle with Merve Dibo on Sunday, she said she has found “the love of her life.”
According to Turkish media reports, six metres of cloth was needed to prepare the wedding suit for Kosen. The cloth was provided by a sponsor.
Rosen, who also holds the Guinness record for the size of hands (27.5 centimetres) and feet (36.5 centimeters), grew up normally till the age of 10.
But later a tumour in his pituitary gland resulted in a condition called pituitary gigantism which causes the body to continuously produce growth harmones. So he continued to grow till the age of 26.
Kosen was cured of this condition (pituitary gigantism) in 2008, and he finally stopped growing after adding another one and a half inches.
The other members of his family are of normal height.
Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had met Kosen some years ago and told him, “That’s enough, don’t grow more.’’
According to Dr Jason Sheehan of the University of Virginia who treated Kosen said, “The treatments that we provided at the University of Virginia have stopped the production of his excess growth hormone and stopped the growth of the tumor itself. I’m most pleased that we were able to help Sultan. If he had continued to grow, it would have been life-threatening.’’
Till date, the world’s tallest man was American Robert Wadlow who at the height of 8ft 11 inches was almost 9 ft tall. He died at the age of 22 in 1940. Had he lived, he would grown taller than 9 feet. At his death, Wadlow weighed about 199 kg.
Because of his huge height, Wadlow required leg braces to walk. And a faulty brace hurt his ankle which later turned into infection. Doctors performed an emergency surgery on him, but he didn’t survive and died at Manistee in Michigan on July 15, 1940.
