Paralympic Games: Tokyo welcomes Morteza Mehrzad, 2.46 m, second tallest man in the world

The only volleyball player to go past the net

The 33-year-old giant suffers, in fact, from acromegaly, a chronic disease caused by too much growth hormone production. Victim, in addition, of a bicycle accident at 15, the Iranian was hit in the hip and right leg. The latter could not grow at the same speed as the left, creating an imbalance complicating its walk. If he can get around on crutches, the volleyball player most often uses his wheelchair. A double handicap which allows its presence at the Paralympic Games… Despite a very big advantage over its competitors.

Mehrzad is, in fact, the only one to exceed the net of 1.15 m (Editor’s note: regulation size in sitting volleyball). Better, he is able to hit the ball almost 1.95 m from the ground. A sizeable asset for Iran, Paralympic champion in Rio in 2016 and a way of expressing herself despite her handicap for the volleyball player: “Before, when I went out in the street, people looked at me strangely. Now they are asking me for autographs, ”said Mehrzad during the last Games in Rio. The Iranian is now looking for a second consecutive gold medal.