Leonid Stadnyk, believed to be the world's tallest man at 8ft 4 inches has died. He was just 44. The peasant farmer from the Ukrainian village of Podoliantsy, died on Sunday August 24th from a brain hemorrhage linked to health problems caused by his height.
Mr Stadnyk was briefly named by Guinness World Records as the planet's tallest man in 2007, but refused to be measured by the organisation and the title was handed back to China's Bao Xishun, who stands 2.36m tall.
The title now rests with 31-year-old Turkish farmer Sultan Kosen, who stands at 2.51m (8 feet, 3 inches).
In his last interview, Leonid, who wears a size 27 shoes in UK sizes,
talked about how his height was a curse, why he refused to be measured by the Guinness Book of World Records and also why he refused to get married
"To me, my height is a curse, a punishment from God, not something to celebrate. What sin I have committed, I do not know. All my life I have dreamed of being just like everyone else. I don't want or need the fame that this would bring so I have no desire to be in this Guinness book.
"I never got married because I don't want to inflict my problems on a wife. I think it would not be fair on her" he said.
The reclusive giant said he made a conscious decision not to be measured officially because he wanted to be left in peace.
At one point, his condition, called giganticism, left him growing at the rate of roughly a foot every 3 years. His feet measured 18 inches in length while his palms were more than a foot in diameter
That is so sad...Rest in peace
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