Leonid Stadnyk

Leonid Stepanovych Stadnyk (Ukrainian: Леонід Степанович Стадник; 5 August 1969 – 24 August 2014) was a Ukrainian man who claimed to have stood at 2.56 m (8 ft 5 in), but was probably closer to 2.30 m (7 ft 7 in) judging from pictures.

Leonid Stadnyk
Леонід Стадник
Born	Leonid Stepanovych Stadnyk (1969-08-05)5 August 1969 Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Died	24 August 2014(2014-08-24) (aged 45) Podolyantsi, Chudniv Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine
Nationality	Ukrainian
Height	2.30 m (7 ft 7 in)

Stadnyk's excessive growth began after brain surgery at the age of 13, after which he developed a pituitary gland tumor that caused the gland to secrete large amounts of growth hormone. This resulted in what doctors describe as acromegalic gigantism. Twenty years after the surgery, the doctors discovered the tumor had mysteriously disappeared and he was currently healthy. He reportedly wore US size 24.5 shoes. Although he held the title for a month, Stadnyk, having no interest in being in any record book, refused to be measured, ending his GWR recognition. Others have questioned the legitimacy of his record, noting that Stadnyk had never been officially measured by Guinness World Records but rather by the Ukrainian Book of Records, where his height was listed as 2.44 metres (8 ft ¹⁄₈ in).