Alexander Sizonenko

Alexander Alexeyevich Sisonenko (Russian Александр Алексеевич Сизоненко, Ukrainian Олександр Олексійович Сизоненко; born July 27, 1959 in Zaporizhia, Ukrainian SSR, † January 5, 2012 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Soviet basketball player and at times the greatest living human being. Born in the Ukraine Sisonenko suffered because of a pituitary tumor with acromegaly, which caused him his life continue to grow, and was recognized in 1991 by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest living person. As a basketball player was Sisonenko national team before he already had to end his career in 1986 because of the growth disorder.

Sisonenko came in 1976 to St. Petersburg, which is still called Leningrad Soviet times, and played for the local club and Soviet runner Spartak. In 1978, handed to another runner before Sisonenko went to Kuibyshev, where he played for the club Stroitel until 1986, but who could not place it in the front box of the Soviet championship. Sisonenko came to twelve missions in the Soviet national team, without thereby qualify for a championship final for a squad. The severely limited by its continued growth disorder in his mobility and agility on the field Sisonenko had then already 27 years to finish his career as a basketball player.

In 1988 Sisonenko had an appearance as a giant in The Magnificent Seven, a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Brave Little Tailor. In 1991, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized him as the greatest living human with a measured body length of 2.39 m. With its 1987 geheirateten 1.74 m wide wife Svetlana, from whom he divorced later, and his son, Alexander, born in 1994 lived Sisonenko then in Saint Petersburg. Sisonenko soon had to apply for a pension, as his bones and his heart his body mass could no longer support. He had to move with the floor, as in the upright position, the spine his body could not stand and he was depressed by about 11 cm. The living on a small pension Sisonenko reached the end of his life in a horizontal position a body length of about 2.40 m and a weight of over 200 kg, and was offered by Gunther von Hagens, paid Plastination in his lifetime his body after his death to leave. Sisonenko refused this offer, but had to spend the summer of 2011 after a fall and complications in the hospital before he was released in November 2011 and again early January 2012, died in his apartment.