World’s second tallest man forced to sleep on the floor at Paralympic village

Morteza Mehrzad, who is 8 feet 0.85 inches tall, is part of Iran’s sitting volleyball team competing at the Paralympic Games.

The 36-year-old was born with a rare medical condition called acromegaly, which causes excess growth in parts of the body. He was over 6 feet by the time he turned 16.

He also suffered a serious pelvic fracture at the age of 15, causing his right leg to stop growing and leaving it around 15 centimeters shorter than his left leg.

Mehrzad was discovered by Iran head coach Hadi Rezaei when he appeared on a reality television programme in 2011 in which he talked about his condition and way of life.

Since being encouraged to play competitive sitting volleyball, Mehrzad has won two Paralympic gold medals and two world volleyball titles.

He is considered a legend in his sport but has been forced to sleep on the floor in the Paralympic village as ‘special beds’ were not made in advance.

‘He’s going to lie on the floor. He doesn’t have a special bed, but he has got the most important aim in his mind.

‘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 are bidding to maintain their stranglehold in the sitting volleyball event at the Paralympics, having won seven of the nine tournaments they have competed at since Seoul 1988.

Iran coach Rezaei described Mehrzad as the ‘best player’ on his team and believes his story should be inspirational to those around the world.

‘Morteza can be considered the best player on our team,’ he said.

‘As a matter of fact, if you go back to Morteza when he was 12 years old, no one had any consideration for him, but when he became a sitting volleyball player, everyone, all around the world know him and respect him.

‘I would like to give you one sentence – I believe that each person has got potential in the world and we have to discover it.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.