The Iranian giant Morteza Mehrzad, who was left to live in seclusion in a remote village located in north of Iran, has now turned to a game-changing player for the Iranian sitting volleyball team and has graced the pages of the Guinness World Records as the tallest Paralympian ever in the history of the Games.

With a staggering height of 246 cm, Morteza was invited to a TV talk show in 2009 to talk about his acromegaly and the 6" leg length discrepancy which was caused by a bike accident at the age of 16.

That TV show was the turning point of his life and drew the attentions to him. Morteza was spotted by sitting volleyball coaches afterwards, and began his sporting career at a local club. Few years later, Morteza was called up to national sitting volleyball team and brought the 6th Paralympic gold for Team Iran by towering above Bosnia and Herzegovina in the gold medal match at Rio 2016. At Tokyo 2020, Morteza and his teammate brought the seventh gold for Team Iran.

Date of Birth: 1987-09-17

Type of Impairment: acromegaly & limb length discrepancy

Paralympic appearances and medals:

• Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Gold medal

• Rio 2016 Paralympic Games - Gold medal