A man believed to be the tallest in the world has died at age 44.
Ukrainian farmer Leonid Stadnyk, who purportedly stood at 8-foot-4, died Sunday due to health problems, reports The Mirror.
Troubled with his size, Stadnyk said he had no desire to be officially measured by the Guinness Book of World Records, but if his height is really accurate he would have won the official distinction.
“To me, my height is a curse, a punishment from God, not something to celebrate,” he had said in previous interview, according to The Mirror. “What sin I have committed, I do not know. All my life I have dreamed of being just like everyone else. “
Guinness reports the tallest living man in the world is part-time farmer Sultan Kösen, 31, of Turkey, who measured at 8-foot-3 in February 2011.
The organization states it only knows of 10 “confirmed or reliable” cases of people who are 8 feet or taller.
But Stadnyk, who wore size 27 shoes, said his height that resulted from his gigantism disease, prevented him from his desired life passions, including becoming a veterinarian.
He also said he did not wish to get married because “I don’t want to inflict my problems on a wife. I think it would not be fair on her,” the newspaper reported.
His size did also cause him several health problems.
“I know I’m the tallest man, but at the same I often feel one of the most helpless. This life is for smaller people,” he said.
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
