Standing tall: Man (27) 10cm taller than record holder:ZHAO LIANG got a surprise when he went into hospital in Tianjin for long-overdue foot surgery, where doctors measuring him discovered that, at 2.46m (8ft 1in), he is almost certainly the tallest person in the world.
The measurement puts the 27-year-old former basketball player 10cm ahead of Bao Xishun (57), the current world record holder, who lives in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. Mr Bao is 2.36m (7ft 8.95in) tall.
Mr Zhao is now seeking official recognition of his stature, but he needs to be independently measured by Guinness World Record judges before he can assume the title of the world’s tallest person.
A foot injury 10 years ago cut short Mr Zhao’s basketball career in his home province of Henan, and he was out of work until three years ago, when he was taken on by a performance troupe in northeast China’s Jilin province.
He has since learned how to do magic tricks and play the saxophone and Chinese flute.
Surgeon Liu Yuchen told Xinhua news agency that Mr Zhao was in good health and did not have any health issues related to his height. His foot injury should heal soon too.
Mr Zhao’s mother, Wang Keyun, told Xinhua that her son had a tremendous appetite, and could eat eight hamburger-sized steamed buns and three dishes for dinner. But she is concerned for her son nonetheless. “I am so worried about his marriage, job and his health that my hair has turned white,” said Ms Wang.
Both she and her husband are of average height.