• About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
  • Login
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
No Result
View All Result

Tallest man in US, Igor Vovkovinskiy dies aged 38

August 24, 2021
Stephen M.Cby Stephen M.C
in Entertainment
0
Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the US, has died at age 38 in Minnesota. His family disclosed that the Ukrainian-born

Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the US

Igor Vovkovinskiy, the tallest man in the US, dies at age 38 in Minnesota.

His family disclosed that the Ukrainian-born Vovkovinskiy died of heart disease on Friday at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

 His mother, Svetlana Vovkovinska, an ICU nurse at Mayo, posted about his death on Facebook.

RelatedPosts

Noble Nketsiah Denies Being Gay, Womaniser

2Baba Unveils New Management Team

Kuami Eugene Spent Months in US Securing Deals

Vovkovinskiy came to the Mayo Clinic in 1989 as a child seeking treatment. A tumor pressing against his pituitary gland caused it to secrete abnormal levels of growth hormone.

He grew to become the tallest man in the US at 7ft 8.33in (2.35m) and ended up staying in Rochester.

His older brother, Oleh Ladan of Brooklyn Park, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that Vovkovinskiy was a celebrity when he arrived from Ukraine because of his size and the flickering cold war of the late 1980s. But Ladan said Vovkovinskiy “would have rather lived a normal life than be known”.

Vovkovinskiy appeared on the Dr Oz Show and was called out by Barack Obama during a campaign rally in 2009, when the president noticed him near the stage wearing a T-shirt that read “World’s Biggest Obama Supporter”.

ap21235532084512 custom af0560964d54ba8f65f131653c65cee3caa63f68 s1100 c50
Picture of President Barack Obama, reaching up to shake the hand of 7 feet 8 inch tall Igor Vovkovinskiy.

In 2013, Obama carried the Ukrainian contestant onto the stage to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest.

When he was 27, Vovkovinskiy traveled to New York and was declared America’s tallest living person by a Guinness World Records adjudicator on Oz’s show. He edged out a sheriff’s deputy in Virginia by one-third of an inch.

According to Guinness World Records, the tallest man in the world is Sultan Kösen, from Turkey. In 2016, he was measured at more than 8ft 2inches.

  • 11-year-old boy earns university degree while preparing for masters
  • Olympics bans swim cap for afro hair

According to the same source, the tallest person ever recorded was Robert Pershing Wadlow, from Illinois, who was measured at 8ft 11inches. He died in 1940 aged just 22, from a septic blister on his right ankle caused by a poorly fitted brace.

In 2012, Vovkovinskiy issued a plea for help to cover the estimated 16,000 dollars cost for specially made shoes that wouldn’t cause him crippling pain.

At the time, he said he hadn’t owned a pair for years that fit his feet.

Thousands donated more than double what he needed and Reebok even provided the custom shoes for free.

Igor Obit
Vovkovinskiy showing off his Reebok custom-made shoes

Vovkovinskiy was born on 8 September 1982 in Bar, Ukraine, to Vovkovinska and Oleksandr Ladan, according to Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home, which will hold a memorial service on Saturday.

The story of Vovkovinskiy is quite similar to Charles Sogli, the supposed tallest man in Ghana.

It can be recalled that the 22-year-old man, who is nearly 8ft tall, appealed for some customized footwear and working gear to keep him in his welding and metal fabrication job.

More so, Charles Sogli appealed for a special vehicle to aid his mobility.

The young man, believed to be the tallest man in the Volta Region, said he dropped out of school because he could not get footwear for the size of his feet and feared the same fate could truncate his apprenticeship as a welder.

WhatsApp Image 2021 07 19 at 10111
A picture of Sogli and some friends

Sogli, comes from Ziope in the Agotime-Ziope District of the Volta Region. He is the third of five siblings and the only one with the unique feature.

The young man whose foot measures at 16 inches disclosed that he enrolled as a welder and metal fabricator apprentice in Ho about a year ago.

He mentioned that a shoemaker got him a footwear for work however, “It is not protective”.

Sogli also said it was difficult for him to use commercial vehicles due to his height, with many commercial drivers denying him their services.

Read also: Black teen, Zaila Avant-Garde becomes first African American contestant to win National Spelling Bee

Tags: entertainmentGhana NewsGuinness world recordsWorld tallest man
Please login to join discussion
Previous Post

Virtual 2021 Accra SDGs Investment Fair kicks off today

Next Post

Information Minister advocates for media and marketing communications in post pandemic recovery

Sign up for The Vaultz analytic wire

Get weekly news analysis from top editors at The Vaultz and stay informed on trending economic and business issues from across the globe.

Related Posts

Mass Jail Sentences Deepen Tunisia’s Political Crisis
Africa

Mass Jail Sentences Deepen Tunisia’s Political Crisis

July 9, 2025
Mustapha Gbande, Party, President.
General News

Every NDC Member Is Better Off Today – Gbande

July 9, 2025
Deadly Rush Confirms Fears About Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Asia

Mass Casualty Incidents Besmirch Gaza’s Aid Struggle

July 9, 2025
GoldBod CEO Champions Value Addition in Mining
Extractives/Energy

Ghana Poised to Reap Big from Soaring Gold Prices

July 9, 2025
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Ghana's Minister for Education
General News

Ghana Moves to Overhaul Scholarship Regime with New Bill

July 9, 2025
LGBTQ concerns in Ghana
General News

Ghana Slammed for UN LGBTQ Vote Abstention

July 9, 2025
Mass Jail Sentences Deepen Tunisia’s Political Crisis
Africa

Mass Jail Sentences Deepen Tunisia’s Political Crisis

by Lawrence AnkutseJuly 9, 2025
Mustapha Gbande, Party, President.
General News

Every NDC Member Is Better Off Today – Gbande

by Silas Kafui AssemJuly 9, 2025
Deadly Rush Confirms Fears About Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Asia

Mass Casualty Incidents Besmirch Gaza’s Aid Struggle

by Comfort AmpomaaJuly 9, 2025
GoldBod CEO Champions Value Addition in Mining
Extractives/Energy

Ghana Poised to Reap Big from Soaring Gold Prices

by Prince AgyapongJuly 9, 2025
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Ghana's Minister for Education
General News

Ghana Moves to Overhaul Scholarship Regime with New Bill

by Evans Junior OwuJuly 9, 2025
LGBTQ concerns in Ghana
General News

Ghana Slammed for UN LGBTQ Vote Abstention

by Lilian AhedorJuly 9, 2025
Mass Jail Sentences Deepen Tunisia’s Political Crisis
Mustapha Gbande, Party, President.
Deadly Rush Confirms Fears About Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
GoldBod CEO Champions Value Addition in Mining
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Ghana's Minister for Education
LGBTQ concerns in Ghana
[/vc_row_inner]

Recent News

  • Mass Jail Sentences Deepen Tunisia’s Political Crisis
  • Every NDC Member Is Better Off Today – Gbande
  • Mass Casualty Incidents Besmirch Gaza’s Aid Struggle
  • Ghana Poised to Reap Big from Soaring Gold Prices
  • Ghana Moves to Overhaul Scholarship Regime with New Bill
The Vaultz News

Copyright © 2021 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2D
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships

Copyright © 2021 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.