Bao Xishun

Bao Xishun (also known as Xi Shun; 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 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.^[1]

On September 17, 2009, Turkey's Sultan Kösen overtook Bao Xishun as the tallest living man in the world, when he was measured by Guinness World Records, standing 2.46 metres (8 ft 1 in) tall.^[2]

Early life

Bao Xishun worked at the Chifeng City local hospital for several months, during which time he was measured to be 2.3609 metres (7 ft 8.95 in). Bao suffers from rheumatism, although this has been attributed to his childhood habit of sleeping outdoors, rather than a height-linked disorder.^[3]

Bao Xishun claims to have been of normal height until he was sixteen years old, 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.^[3] Following this, he returned to Inner Mongolia to live with his mother. He soon became known as the world's tallest living man.

Fame

At the age of 45, he became withdrawn after the death of his mother until he was offered a job as a greeter at a restaurant.^[3] He quickly gained attention from the local media, who applied to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 and remove the plastic manually.^[4][5]

Bao Xishun married saleswoman Xia Shujuan on March 24, 2007.^[6][7][8][9] The Mongolian ceremony took place on July 12, 2007 at the Genghis Khan holiday resort on the grasslands near Ordos City.^[10][11] Bao's surname indicates that he belongs to the same paternal lineage as Genghis Khan's clan, Borjigin. Amongst the guests was the shortest man in the world, He Pingping.

Bao's son was born at a hospital in Zunhua, Hebei province October 2, 2008.^[12]

Bao appeared on the eleventh episode of The Amazing Race 16 as the pitstop greeter. The episode aired on May 2, 2010. He was considered to be the world's tallest man at the time of filming, but a few days later, Sultan Kösen was measured by the Guinness Book of World Records and declared to be the tallest.^[13]

See also

• List of tallest people
• Robert Wadlow, tallest man in history
• Leonid Stadnyk
• Sultan Kösen, current tallest man according to Guinness Book of Records
• Yao Defen
• Gigantism
• Chandra Bahadur Dangi, shortest person in history
• Zeng Jinlian, tallest woman in history

References

External links

• World’s tallest man, Bao Xishun, has married
• A photo with his bride (picture 4)
• World's tallest man meets world's shortest man
• Bao Xishun - World's tallest man