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The second tallest man in the world was forced to sleep on the floor in the Paralympic Village. Photo
The world's second tallest man had to sleep on the floor during the 2024 Paralympics
The second tallest man in the world, Morteza Mehrzad, has faced an inconvenience while participating in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. The 247-centimeter tall Iranian men's national sitting volleyball team player was forced to sleep on the floor in the Paralympic Village.
The 36-year-old was born with a rare condition called acromegaly. It causes excessive growth of body parts. When the young man turned 16, his height exceeded almost 183 centimeters. At the age of 15, he also suffered a serious pelvic fracture, which caused his right leg to stop growing and become about 15 centimeters shorter than his left, Metro writes.
Iranian national team head coach Hadi Rezaei noticed Mehrzad when he appeared on a reality TV show in 2011 to talk about his condition and lifestyle. Since being encouraged to play sitting volleyball, Morteza has won two Paralympic gold medals and two world volleyball titles.
He is considered a legend in his sport. However, the champion had to sleep on the floor in the Paralympic Village because "special beds" were not thought out in advance. "In Tokyo [2020], yes, they made a special bed, but unfortunately not here [in Paris 2024]," Rezaei told Olympics.com.
Despite sleeping on the floor, the athlete remains optimistic about the competition. "For him, it doesn't matter if he's lying on the floor or doesn't have enough food. In any case, he is thinking about becoming a champion," the Iranian's coach emphasized.
Iran is trying to maintain its leadership in sitting volleyball at the Paralympic Games, having won seven of the nine tournaments they have participated in since the 1988 Seoul Paralympics. Rezaei called Mehrzad "the best player" on his team and believes his story should inspire people around the world. "Morteza can be considered the best player on our team," he said. "In fact, if you look at him when he was 12 years old, no one paid attention to him, but when he became a sitting volleyball player, he is known and respected all over the world.
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