World News

Bao Xishun from China has been given the title of the world’s tallest man in the Guinness World Records. The title was given back to him after Leonid Stadnyk from the Ukraine refused to be measured under the new rules and standards.

Bao it 7 feet 8.95 inches tall and first held the title before losing in in 2006 to Stadnyk who stands 8 feet 5.5 inches tall. While Bao has been measured by Guinness, which required him to be measured six times in one day - both standing and lying down - Stadnyk has refused. His title was awarded based on a statement from his doctor.

“We realized there was such interest and excitement in these categories to do with height that it was too important a category for us to leave it to a doctor alone,” Glenday said. “So we decided to tighten things up completely to make sure there was no doubt.”

Glenday said Guinness had been asking Stadnyk since about 2004 - when the organization first heard of him - if they could measure him, offering to fly officials to the Ukraine or fly him to Britain. “He has gone on record saying he doesn’t want to be bothered. Basically he doesn’t want the fame and publicity that comes with being the world’s tallest man,” he said. “Whether or not that’s the real reason … I’m not sure, but that’s what he’s told us.”

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.”