Posted on 08/24/2021 9:31:01 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the United States, has died in Minnesota. He was 38.
His family said Vovkovinskiy died of heart disease on Friday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. His mother, Svetlana Vovkovinska, an intensive care unit nurse at Mayo, initially posted about his death on Facebook.
Vovkovinskiy, who was born in the Ukraine, came to the Mayo Clinic in 1989 as a child seeking treatment. A tumor pressing against his pituitary gland caused it to secrete abnormal levels of growth hormone. He grew to become the tallest man in the U.S. at and ended up staying in Rochester.
His older brother, Oleh Ladan of Brooklyn Park, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that Vovkovinskiy was a celebrity when he arrived from Ukraine because of his size and the flickering Cold War of the late 1980s. But Ladan said Vovkovinskiy "would have rather lived a normal life than be known."
Vovkovinskiy appeared on "The Dr. Oz Show" and was called out by President Barack Obama during a campaign rally in 2009, when the president noticed him near the stage wearing a T-shirt that read, "World's Biggest Obama Supporter." In 2013, he carried the Ukrainian contestant onto the stage to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest.
When he was 27, Vovkovinskiy traveled to New York City and was declared America's tallest living person by a Guinness World Records adjudicator on Oz's show. He edged out a sheriff's deputy in Virginia by one-third of an inch.
He issued a plea in 2012 to cover the estimated $16,000 cost for specially made shoes that wouldn't cause him crippling pain. At the time, he said he hadn't owned a pair for years that fit his size 26, 10E feet. Thousands donated more than double what he needed.
A team of 10 Reebok designers used laser technology and molds to custom make three pairs of shoes for Vovkovinskiy, CBS Minnesota reported.
"Now that I've seen them, I'm overwhelmed," he told the station in 2012.
igor.jpg Igot Vovkovinskiy issued a plea in 2012 to cover the estimated $16,000 cost for specially made shoes that wouldn't cause him crippling pain. CBS MINNESOTA Vovkovinskiy was born September 8, 1982, in Bar, Ukraine, to Vovkovinska and Oleksandr Ladan, according to Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home, which is holding a memorial service on Saturday. His father died earlier.
Vovkovinskiy appeared in the 2011 film "Hall Pass" in a scene with star Jason Sudeikis, and onstage at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, CBS Minnesota reported.
Oh no... Barron Trump!
Covid?
Barron is naturally tall. It’s written in his gene book. There’s no tumor pressing against his pituitary.
“World’s Biggest Obama Supporter”
~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe that tumor was impacting his brain, too.
Somebody didn’t get the vaccine.
Or the vax.
Those shoes do look painful. The woman’s, that is. My wife wore maybe a 2” heel at our wedding. A 3” as a bridesmaid. But actually hates to wear high heels. She’s convinced that any woman that says high heels are comfortable must be comparing them to wooden shoes.
I stood next to a,life-sized statue of Robert wadlow 8’ 11” in Niagara falls museum a long time ago. They also had the world’s tallest living woman there too sitting for all us folks gawk at. (We didn’t know she was there when we went in, but there she was).. It was mind blowing
“Covid?”
No. People who have pituitary gland issues usually die from heart issues because the heart can’t handle the stress of pumping blood to such a huge body.
The same thing happened to Andre The Giant of WWE fame.
$16k and a team at Reebok? They over charged him.
Shaq wears a size 23 and can afford sold gold sneakers but bet he and his basketball buddies don’t pay anywhere near that. Heck, he has his own brand so could have made this guy a closet full of shoes for starring in one tv commercial ad.
Notice how he is closer to the camera and she is probably 5 ft tall to boot.
Impressive photog!
So sad tho. Being a giant does a number on one.
Also reminds me of the sad case of Robert Wadlow who was almost 9 feet all.
Died at 25 of various height-related issues.
No, Obama supporters love Fauci, Gates, and vaccines made from aborted fetal cells
What does this have to do with the vaccine?
Will be voting in next election. Facial structures look like acromegaly was coming on.
Obviously got the vax.
Deputy sheriff (George Bell)...played basketball for Morris College and Biola University. Also for Harlem Globetrotters and Harlem Wizards. He may now be the tallest man measured on earth again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
