America’s tallest man dies at 38

The tallest man in the United States – under 2.35m fathead – died Friday of a heart attack in the state of Minnesota at the age of 38, his mother announced on Facebook.

Igor Vovkovinski, an American of Ukrainian descent, lived a life marked by disease, triggered by excessive secretion of tumor hormones.

It is for this reason that his family, during his childhood, in the northern American city of Rochester, became known as the Health Pole.

Igor, already “small” for his age, continued to reach the record level of the United States despite treatment, which was mentioned by the Guinness Book of World Records commissioners when he was 27 years old.

During the 2013 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Igor Vovkovinsky was the singer representing Ukraine, on stage, in his arms.

He previously had the experience of another celebrity in 2009, spotted by Barack Obama during a political rally. Wearing the “greatest Obama supporter in the world” T-shirt, he climbed into a crowd of activists and shook hands with the president of the Democratic Party.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s tallest man is currently Sultan Kozan of Turkey (2.51 meters).

But the tallest man in modern history was Robert Watlow, an American who reached a height of 2.72 m. He died in 1940 at the age of 22, suffering from an abnormally high production of growth hormone.

Source: AFP