Olivier Rioux, former veteran of Real Madrid, has entered this week in the Guinness Book of Records As the tallest teenager in the world today. The young Canadian from 15 to is already in the 226.7 centimeters… and he is still of age to grow a little older To get an idea, in NBA history he is only surpassed by five players: Gheorghe Muresan, Manute Bol, Yao Ming, Slavko Vranes and Shawn Bradley. A Walter Tavares, roof of the Endesa League, it takes six centimeters.
The prodigy, who started playing basketball at the age of five, rose to fame in the La Roda Tournament 2018, where he went with the French team Frenchy Phenoms. His height, at that time, 2.13 meters, did not go unnoticed among 12-year-olds. Real Madrid incorporated him to its quarry to test him and he got to participate in the Castelldefels U13 Tournament. Now, chasing your dreams of NBA, trying to get closer to his idol LeBron James and after a new stretch, play in the IMG Academy de Florida.
They already know him in the best league in the world. A video of him playing at La Roda went viral due to the great height difference he had with his teammates and rivals. Stephen Curry, base of Warriors, saw it and assured on social networks “have many questions” about it. If he refers to age, he is neither the first nor the last to have been questioned. It also caught the attention of Joel Embiid, pvot of the Sixers. And in some training session he has been able to photograph himself with NBA players like his compatriot Jamal Murray, outside of Nuggets of 1.90 meters, which, as seen in the image below, raised almost a head. Now it will be something else.
He has already played some tournaments with the national teams of Canad into training categories. At the end of August I participated in the Americas Championship U16, in which his team finished in third place. He was one of the most decisive players despite the fact that his intimidating impact on games was not reflected much in the statistics. Average 8.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
Outside of basketball he also draws attention. Even more than on the track. On a vacation in Cuba, a long line formed at the hotel where he was staying because all the guests wanted to be photographed with the giant child, who does not take fame badly and is patient with the jokes derived from his stature.
A family of towers
For Rioux, height runs in the family. His father, Jean Francois, who practiced volleyball, measures 2,07. His mother, Anne Gariepy, who did swimming, reached 1,85. AND his brother, with that same elongated genetics, is already 2,10. The parents have had to say no to numerous offers of equipment that wanted to have the youngster. “It’s like he’s turning down invitations at Facebook: coaches, agents, sports brands … “, said the father a couple of years ago when his son became a celebrity.
Given the height of all the members of the family, the Rioux have had to make renovations at home by raising the ceilings and buying chairs and tables adapted to your size. According to some, what they have not been able to do is lift the door frames, one of the most dangerous elements for their physical integrity.
Since he was a child, aware of his extraordinary height, Olivier spent hours flipping through the Guinness Book the names and details of the tallest people. Finding no one who, at his age, would surpass him in the 2015 and 2016 editions, he presented his candidacy and, finally, has fulfilled the dream of including his name, which will appear in next year’s book.
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