World’s tallest athlete towering in Tokyo
<p>The world’s tallest athlete Morteza Mehrzad, who competes sitting down, is 246cm tall and he’s part of the Iranian men’s sitting volleyball team which is on track for back-to-back gold medals at the Paralympics.</p>
<p>The middle-eastern nation has dominated the sport for decades — winning six of the past eight gold medals in the men’s game — but it’s the addition of Mehrzad which has made the team even more unbeatable.</p>
<p>The 33-year-old is the second tallest man alive and the tallest Paralympian in history.</p>
<p><img style="width: 500px; height:281.12648221343875px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843639/tallest-athlete-2-um.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/3b9a155aa6764bbe9dc77eaf510d451a" /></p>
<p>In a sport where players with a variety of ailments sit down and try to get the ball over the net which is approximately 1.15m off the floor, it’s very easy for Mehrzad.</p>
<p>Iran will meet the sport’s other powerhouse Bosnia Herzegovina in the semi-finals on Thursday night in a rematch of the gold medal game in Rio four years ago.</p>
<p>On that occasion, Mehrzad made the difference and Iran won the medal.</p>
<p><strong>Iran’s coach asked Mehrzad to join</strong></p>
<p>Iran’s coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani saw Mehrzad on a TV program about physical disorders and got in contact with him, asking him to join the team.</p>
<p>He took up the sport nine years ago and made his international debut in 2016 and immediately started winning awards. He’s only improved, continuing to dominate at the Paralympics.</p>
<p>Even sitting down, when Mehrzad raises his right arm, it reaches a height of 1.93 metres. When spiking — the term used to describe a forceful attacking shot to get the ball over the net — he can get his dominant hand up to 2.3m in the air.</p>
<p><strong>It’s not all good news for the Iranian sports star</strong></p>
<p>While it’s easy to see why Mehrzad would be happy with his progress, it isn’t all good news for the Iranian superstar.</p>
<p>He suffers from acromegaly - a medical condition which arises from the brain’s pituitary gland producing too much growth hormone after the body’s growth plates have closed. By the age of 16 he was already over 1.9m tall.</p>
<p>Mehrzad rarely stands up though because he seriously injured his pelvis in a bike accident as a teenager, meaning he now spends significant amounts of time either on crutches or in a wheelchair.</p>
<p>His right leg has stopped growing and it’s about 15cm shorter than his left. The sad reality is that while he’s helping his teammates to win and bringing recognition to his country in Tokyo at the moment, his condition does not bode well for his long term future.</p>
<p>A spokesperson for his team said: “His health is not going well. His health is currently declining because he’s getting taller. I think he’s still growing. The first time we saw him he could walk better but now he has to walk with crutches.”</p>
<p>But now is a time for Mehrzad and his team to focus on the positives. Iran has won six gold medals and two silvers across the past eight Paralympics, and with Mehrzad’s help, it looks likely they’ll be heading home from these Games with some more medals as well.</p>
<p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>
