Big-hearted giant looking to get hands on a wife

FOR many lonely hearts, finding love is a tall order — particularly if you measure 8ft 1in.

Women used to run scared from the world’s tallest man, Sultan Kosen.

But now he is hoping his new-found fame will bring him love for the first time.

Turkish Kosen, who also has the largest hands (27.5cm) and feet (36.5cm) on the globe, said: “The first thing I want to do is have a car that I can fit in but more than that I want to get married.

“Up until now it’s been really difficult to find a girlfriend. I’ve never had one, they were usually scared of me. I’m hoping now I will find one.”

“It was really difficult for me to find a girlfriend before but hopefully now that I’m famous I’ll be able to meet lots of girls. I’d like to get married.”

One the difficulties of being so tall is getting clothes which fit — Kosen, 27, wore a specially-made suit to meet journalists which was one of the first outfits he has owned that is the right size.

He also had to have a three-metre long bed made.

He said: “The most difficult things are, for example, that I can’t fit into a normal car. When I get into a car, it’s a really tight fit. I can’t go shopping like normal people, I have to have things made specially and sometimes they aren’talways as fashionable. The other thing is that ceilings are low and I have to bend down through doorways.”

But his towering height does have its upsides.

He said: “The good thing about being so tall is that I can see people from a long distance. The other thing is at home they use my height to change the light bulbs and hang the curtains, things like that.”

A smiling Kosen, who used crutches to stand, said he had always dreamed of coming to London and had two seats to himself on the flight over.

Medical problems ruled out a career in basketball, and he now works occasionally as a farmer.

Kosen, who has three brothers and a sister, applied for consideration as the tallest man in Turkey and was discovered to be more than 10cm taller than the world record holder.

The title was previously held by Bao Xishun who was first recognised by Guinness in 2005.

Kosen is the first person in more than a decade to be more than 8ft in height, a spokesman for Guinness World Records (GWR) said.

The gentle giant grew normally until he was 10 but then a tumour caused him to develop a medical condition called pituitary gigantism.

The tumour was removed last year and his growth stopped.

His visit to Britain is the first time he has travelled outside Turkey, and he will go on to visit the US and Germany.

GWR editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said: “Sultan’s an imposing figure, but a gentle, quiet man who’s totally relaxed and unfazed about his unique standing in the world.”