One of the world's tallest men, Leonid Stadnyk of the Ukraine, has died at the age of 44, local media reported Monday.
Stadnyk, who it was claimed was 2.57 meters tall, died of a stroke in a hospital in western Ukraine, local officials in the region ofZhytomyr told the Union news agency.
He had been living in the central Ukrainian village of Podolyantsiand had been suffering from a growth disorder since undergoing brain surgery during childhood.
The current title of tallest living male, according to official records, is Sultan Koesen of Turkey, who is 2.51 meters tall.
In 2008, the Guinnes World Records stopped listing Stadnyk as the world’s tallest man because he refused to be measured by their own experts.