Leonid Stadnyk, world's tallest man, dies of brain hemorrhage

Leonid Stadnyk, the tallest man in the world, died on August 24 in the Zhytomyr region. The 44-year-old man, who was 2 meters 57 centimeters (8-foot-4) tall died of a brain hemorrhage.

The record holder was working as a farm veterinarian; he has never been married. Since the age of 12, Stadnyk was suffering from benign, hormone-producing pituitary tumor of the brain. The tumor became the cause of acromegaly, or giant growth. Leonid received several neurosurgical operations, and was also first group disabled individual as he had frostbitten feet.

Stadnyk was wearing size 70 clothing size 62 shoes. All of his clothing's and shoes were custom made. Villagers said that the giant man was a kind and sympathetic person.

Stadnyk was not an official record holder, as he refused to be measured by Guinness World Records specialists in 2008. Formally, the tallest man living in the world today is Sultan Kesen of Turkey. However, Leonid Stadnyk of Ukraine was six centimeters taller than his Turkish rival.

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