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The world’s second-largest man is representing Iran at the Paralympics in Paris — but he’s so tall that he needs to sleep on the floor.
Morteza Mehrzadselakjani — who is better known as Mehrzad — is the star player of Iran’s sitting volleyball team. The two-time Paralympic champion measures at 8 feet 0.85 inches tall and his stature means that he has been sleeping on the floor in Paris.
The team’s head coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani told Olympics.com that his star player didn’t get a custom bed like he did at the Tokyo Games, but that he doesn’t mind sleeping on the floor.
“He doesn’t have a special bed, but he has got the most important aim in his mind,” he said. “It doesn’t matter for him whether he will lay on the floor or he’s not going to have enough to eat. In any way, he has the mind to become a champion.”
Iran has won seven of the nine sitting volleyball Olympic tournaments they have competed at since their first try at Seoul 1988. A gold in Paris would be a hat-trick for Mehrzadselakjani, who made his Paralympic debut in 2016.
Mehrzadselakjani, 36, was diagnosed at a young age with acromegaly, a rare hormonal disorder that causes excess in parts of the body. A bicycle accident as a teenager resulted in an injured pelvis and stunted the growth of his right leg.
According to Olympics.com, Rezaeigarkani discovered Mehrzad when he appeared on a local TV reality show in 2011 to talk about the challenges he faced.
“I believe that Morteza has spent 11 years in his room, in his house, without going out,” Rezaeigarkani said. “Because he is the tallest man, when he wanted to leave the home and come outside, unfortunately, he was not satisfied because so many people [stared at] him. But nowadays all people are going to look at him as a champion.”
He is the tallest athlete to ever compete at a Paralympic Games.
