Bao Xishun

Bao Xishun, also known as Xi Shun, (born in , 1951) is a herdsman from Inner Mongolia and, since January 15, 2005, has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's tallest living man.

Measured at 2.36 metres (7 ft 8.95 in) tall at the Chifeng City Hospital, Bao Xishun does not have a known growth disorder — unlike the tallest man ever, Robert Wadlow, and the tallest living man claimants, Leonid Stadnyk and Ajaz Ahmed. Stadnik and Ahmed claim a height of 2.54 metres (8 ft 4 in), but their claims are controversial, and not currently accepted by Guinness. Bao suffers from rheumatism, although this has been attributed to his childhood habit of sleeping outdoors, rather than a height-linked disorder.^[1]

Bao Xishun claims to have been of normal height until he was 16 when he experienced a growth spurt for unknown reasons and reached his present height seven years later. Bao served in the People's Liberation Army for three years, and played for the army basketball team until his rheumatism began to appear, leading to his discharge from the army.^[1] Following this, he returned to Inner Mongolia to live with his mother.

Following his mother's death when he was 40, however, he became withdrawn until he was offered a job as a greeter at a restaurant.^[1] He quickly gained attention from the local media, who applied to Guinness World Records on his behalf. He was measured, and found to be 2 mm taller than the previous record holder, Radhouane Charbib.

In December 2006, Bao Xishun was asked by veterinarians to assist them in removing shards of plastic from the stomachs of two dolphins. The dolphins had accidentally swallowed the shards, which had settled in their stomachs and caused a loss of appetite and depression. Veterinarians had failed to remove them, so Bao Xishun used his 1.06 metre-long arms to reach into the dolphins' stomachs, to remove the plastic manually.^[2] The manager of aquarium, the Royal Jidi Ocean World, confirmed, "When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday. The two dolphins are expected to make a full recovery."^[3] (The story is similar to that of American basketball player Clifford Ray, who was asked to use his long arms to save a California dolphin in 1978.)

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References

Preceded by Radhouane Charbib

Tallest Person January 15, 2005 –

Succeeded by Incumbent

Personal data
NAME	Xishun, Bao
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Xi Shun
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Tallest man alive
DATE OF BIRTH	1951
PLACE OF BIRTH	Inner Mongolia, China
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH