China's Bao Reclaims Title as World's Tallest Man!

Aug. 20 - "Guinness World Records has returned the title of world's tallest man to China's Bao Xishun after Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk refused to be measured under new guidelines.

Bao, who stands at 7 feet, 8.95 inches, held the title for a year before losing it in 2006 to Stadnyk, who is 8 feet 5.5 inches tall, Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, told Reuters.

'He was a bit of a recluse. He looked after goats. Then the fame that he got from being a Guinness World Record holder meant that he found himself a wife, his life improved,' said Glenday, adding that Bao and his 5-foot 6-inch wife are expecting a baby later this year.

Bao hires himself out for publicity stunts and his wedding last year was sponsored by at least 15 companies. In December 2006, Bao saved the lives of two dolphins by reaching deep into their stomachs with his 3.47-foot long arm to pull out pieces of plastic, according to Chinese media.

Bao reached his height in a seven-year spurt that began in his teens which doctors have yet to explain, according to Guinness, while Glenday said Stadnyk's growth is said to have been caused by a tumor on his pituitary gland that stimulated over-production of a growth hormone.

Bao with He Ping Ping the world's shortest man, who stands 2 feet 5.37 inches tall and lives just a few hundred miles from Bao in Inner Mongolia.

Bao pimpin it with his wife

Stadnyk, who lives with his mother in a tiny village in central Ukraine, told Reuters last year he doesn't 'need glory. I just want a normal life under normal conditions.'"

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