Igor Vovkovinskiy: Tallest Man in The US at 2.3m Dies Aged 38 from Heart Disease
- Guinness World Record holder for Tallest Man in The US Igor Vovkovinskiy is dead
- His mother Svetlana Vovkovinska confirmed the news on Facebook, adding that the 38-year-old succumbed to heart disease
- Vovkovinskiy made headlines at a campaign by former US president Barack Obama when he was spotted wearing an outfit written "World's Biggest Obama Supporter"
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Igor Vovkovinskiy made an entry into the Guinness Book of Records in 2010 for being the tallest living person in America.
Source: UGC
Vovkovinskiy, who stood at 7 feet, 8.33 inches tall (2 metres, 34.5 centimetres) died aged 38 from heart disease at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, CNN reports.
Remained Humorous to The Last Minute
News of his demise was shared on Facebook by his mother Svetlana Vovkovinska, who works as an ICU nurse at the medical facility.
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She added that Vovkovinskiy's brother Oleh, wife Alla and children were with him to the very last minute.
"Igor was glad to see them, and although it was difficult for him to speak, he tried to joke about his nephew Andriy, whether he had learned the Ukrainian language in a month in Ukraine," she wrote.
President Obama Campaign
Vovkovinskiy became a celebrity at former US President Barack Obama's campaign in 2009 when the president noticed him towering above the rest with a T-shirt written "World's Biggest Obama Supporter."
He was entered into the Guinness World Records at the age of 27 after edging out a Virginia police officer George Bell by one-third of an inch.
Another notable moment in his life came in 2013 when he carried the Ukrainian contestant to the podium to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest.
One of the biggest challenges with having such a height was that Vovkovinskiy struggled to get shoes that could fit him.
In 2012, he sent an appeal for well-wishers to help him raise an estimated $16,000 to pay for specially-made shoes because the rest caused him pain.
At the time, his shoe was size 26, 10E, and as much as he received donations that doubled whatever he had requested, he was given a free custom-made pair by Reebok.
Vovkovinskiy also revealed that he found it difficult to get into vehicles due to his height.
Ukrainian by birth
The late Vovkovinskiy was born on September 8, 1982, in Bar, Ukraine but moved to Rochester in 1989 in search of treatment for a tumour that was affecting his pituitary gland.
He was born to his mother Svetlana Vovkovinska and father Oleksandr Ladan, who is now deceased, according to the Voice of America.
Mzansi tall girls show out in numbers online, SA completely stans
In more news from Briefly News about tall people, we previously reported that A beautiful young and exceptionally tall South African lady recently graced our timelines with her snaps and called on other local tall girls to share snaps of themselves - which they did happily.
"Tall Girls Thread," she captioned the snaps of her beautiful self.
South Africa clearly has a lot of tall girls who don't mind showing off their legs for days as the thread soon became filled with snaps of tall Mzansi beauties standing proudly on their long legs.
Source: Briefly News
