Iranian sitting volleyball player Morteza Mehrzadselakjani towers over his Paralympic teammates. Photo / Twitter
At a staggering 2.46m tall, Iranian athlete Morteza Mehrzadselakjani is the tallest athlete at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
In addition to this, the 28-year-old, whose birthday is on Saturday, is also the tallest person in the whole of Iran.
Starring in the sport of sitting volleyball, Mehrzad, as he is
known, took up the sport five years ago, when a coach spotted him on television and identified his raw potential, thanks to his overwhelming height advantage.
Mehrzad was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition that stems from excess growth hormone.
Mehrzad normally uses a wheelchair or crutches to get around as a result of a serious pelvis fracture suffered when he was 15 year old, stopping his right leg from growing, making walking difficult.
