The tallest man in the United States, measuring 2.35 meters according to official measurements, passed away on Friday due to a heart condition at the age of 38 in Minnesota, as announced by his mother on Facebook. Igor Vovkovinskiy, an American of Ukrainian descent, struggled with illness throughout his life due to a tumor that caused excessive secretion of growth hormones. For this reason, his family relocated when he was a child to live in Rochester, a city in northern United States known for its healthcare services.
Igor continued to grow taller despite all the treatments he received, eventually reaching a record height for the United States confirmed by officials from the Guinness World Records when he was 27 years old. During the 2013 edition of the Eurovision contest, Igor carried the singer who represented Ukraine onto the stage. He also caught the attention of President Barack Obama when he shook his hand during a political rally in 2009, wearing a shirt that read "World's Biggest Obama Supporter."
According to Guinness, the tallest man in the world currently is the Turkish Sultan Kösen (2.51 meters). However, the tallest man in modern history is the American Robert Wadlow, who reached a height of 2.72 meters. He also suffered from excessive secretion of growth hormones and passed away in 1940 at the age of 22.
