An 8-foot Iranian is turning heads while sitting at Rio Paralympics
Morteza Mehrzad is not just the tallest athlete at the Paralympics. He’s the tallest person in all of Iran.
Mehrzad stands 8 feet, 1 inch. But he is far shorter while playing his sport — sitting volleyball for the Iranian team at the Rio Games.
At age 16, while already clear of 6 feet tall, Mehrzad fell off his bike and suffered a pelvis injury. It caused his right leg to stop growing, so it is now about six inches shorter than his left leg, according to Rio 2016.
Mehrzad, now 28, was noticed by an Iran sitting volleyball coach while appearing on TV about five years ago.
Mehrzad picked up the sport and in March made his first appearance for the national team at a major competition.
Morteza Mehrzad is not just the tallest athlete at the Paralympics. He’s the tallest person in all of Iran.
Mehrzad stands 8 feet, 1 inch. But he is far shorter while playing his sport — sitting volleyball for the Iranian team at the Rio Games.
At age 16, while already clear of 6 feet tall, Mehrzad fell off his bike and suffered a pelvis injury. It caused his right leg to stop growing, so it is now about six inches shorter than his left leg, according to Rio 2016.
Mehrzad, now 28, was noticed by an Iran sitting volleyball coach while appearing on TV about five years ago.
Mehrzad picked up the sport and in March made his first appearance for the national team at a major competition.
