Bao Xishun (also known as Xi Shun or "The Mast" ) Chinese: Bào Xǐshùn ) (born 1951) is a herdsman from Inner Mongolia, China, who was recognized by Guinness World Records as one of the world's tallest living men. Guinness World Records had returned the title of world’s tallest man back to him after Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk took over the title briefly. After Stadnyk refused to be measured under new guidelines, which required him to be independently measured by Guinness World Records ’s adjudicators, the title was returned to Xishun.
On September 17, 2009, Turk Sultan Kosen overtook Bao Xishun as the tallest living man in the world, when he was measured by Guinness World Records, standing 2.47m (8ft 1") tall.
Early career
Bao Xishun, born in Inner Mongolia, measured at 2.361 meters (7 ft 8.95 in) tall at the Chifeng City Hospital. Two other men, Ajaz Ahmed and the late Vikas Uppal, have claimed to be over 8 feet tall, but these claims have not been independently verified. Bao suffers from rheumatism, although this has been attributed to his childhood habit of sleeping outdoors, rather than a height-linked disorder.
Bao Xishun claims to have been of normal height until he was 16 when he experienced a growth spurt for unknown reasons and reached his present height seven years later. Bao served in the People's Liberation Army for three years, and played for the army basketball team until his rheumatism began to appear, leading to his discharge from the army. Following this, he returned to Inner Mongolia to live with his mother.
At the age of 40, he became withdrawn after the death of his mother until he was offered a job as a greeter at a restaurant. He quickly gained attention from the local media, who applied to Guinness World Records on his behalf. He was measured and found to be 2 mm taller than the previous record holder, Radhouane Charbib.
In December 2006, Bao Xishun was asked by veterinarians to assist them in removing shards of plastic from the stomachs of two dolphins. The dolphins had accidentally swallowed the shards, which had settled in their stomachs and caused a loss of appetite and depression. Veterinarians had failed to remove them, so Bao Xishun used his 1.06 metre-long arms to reach into the dolphins' stomachs, to remove the plastic manually. (A similar operation was performed by American basketball player Clifford Ray, who was asked to use his long arms to save a California dolphin in 1978.)
Bao Xishun married saleswoman Xia Shujuan on 24 March 2007. The Mongolian ceremony (sponsored by at least 15 companies) took place on July 12, 2007 at the Genghis Khan holiday resort on the grasslands near Ordos City. Bao's surname indicates that he belongs to the same paternal lineage as Genghis Khan's clan, Borjigin.
Xishun's daughter was born at a hospital in Zunhua, Hebei province October 2, 2008.
Rival contender
In April 2009, Xinhua reported that Zhao Liang had been measured at 2.46m, 10 cm taller than Bao.
See also
- List of tallest people
- Robert Wadlow, tallest man in history
- Sultan Kosen, tallest living man
- Yao Defen, tallest living woman
- He Pingping, the world's shortest man, also from Inner Mongolia
- Lin Yih-Chih, formerly the world's shortest man, from Taiwan
References
- ^ "New rules make China's Bao world's tallest again". Reuters. 2008-08-20 . http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKN1929897020080820?sp=true . Retrieved 2006-08-20 .
- ^ "New Tallest Man in the World is Announced in London to Launch the 2010 Edition of Guinness World Records". sys.con. 2009-09-17 . http://www.sys-con.com/node/1110129 . Retrieved 2009-09-17 .
- ^ a b c "World's tallest man longs to live a normal life". China Daily. 2006-08-11 . http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2006-08/11/content_662093.htm . Retrieved 2006-12-14 .
- ^ "World's tallest man saves dolphin". www.bbc.co.uk . http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6178659.stm . Retrieved 2006-12-14 .
- ^ "World's tallest man saves choking dolphins". www.thestar.com . http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1166097911876&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News . Retrieved 2006-12-14 .
- ^ Springer, Shira. "Ray jumps into job". Boston Globe , May 24, 2006.
- ^ "World's tallest man gets married". www.bbc.co.uk . http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6502203.stm . Retrieved 2007-03-28 .
- ^ World's tallest man finds (shorter) other half, NZ Herald.
- ^ "World's tallest man ties knot". AP. 2007-03-28 . http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/28/china.tall.ap/index.html .
- ^ "Home is where the heart is for world's tallest man". Yahoo! . http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070328/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_tallest . Retrieved 2007-03-28 .
- ^ "World's tallest man marries, sweeps bride off feet". news.yahoo.com . http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070712/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_tallest . Retrieved 2007-07-12 .
- ^ Wedding photo
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_china_tall
- ^ Coonan, Clifford (22 April 2009). "Former basketball player may be tallest person in the world". The Irish Times . http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0422/1224245132233.html . Retrieved 2009-04-22 . ...
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