World’s tallest man stands above competition

8-foot-5-inch Ukrainian dwarfs previous titleholder at a measly 7-foot-9

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Meet the world's tallest man
Aug. 9: Standing a towering 8 feet 5 inches, Ukraine's Leonid Stadnyk tops the previous Guinness Book of World Records title-holder by 8 inches.

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updated 7:21 p.m. ET Aug. 8, 2007

KIEV, Ukraine - A Ukrainian man is the tallest person in the world at 8 feet 5 inches, overshadowing a Chinese man who previously held the title, Guinness World Records said Wednesday.

Leonid Stadnik, a 37-year-old former veterinarian, is 8 inches taller than the former titleholder, China's Bao Xishun, who measured 7 feet 9 inches, Guinness World Records spokeswoman Amarilis Espinoza said in London.

Stadnik's growth spurt started at age 14 after a brain operation apparently stimulated his pituitary gland, which produces the human growth hormone.

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He lives with his mother, Halyna, in northwestern Ukraine, taking care of the family's house and garden.

According to Guinness, the tallest man in medical history was Illinois native Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was 8 feet 11 inches and died in 1940 at the age of 22.