Paralympics: Iran’s Sitting Volleyball Team Has the World’s 2d Tallest Man
Morteza Mehrzadselakjani (R), France, 2024. Photo: X/ @MelhordoVolei
September 3, 2024 Hour: 9:50 am
Morteza has turned his chronic illness into the driving force that propels Iran toward Paralympic glory.
Standing at 2.46 meters tall (8 feet 1 inch), Morteza Mehrzadselakjani is not only the second tallest living man in the world but also a star in sitting volleyball. Despite suffering from a chronic illness and an accident that left him in a wheelchair, Mehrzad has turned these adversities into the driving force that propels Iran toward Paralympic glory in Paris 2024.
RELATED:
Paralympics: Jodie Grinham Becomes the First Pregnant Athlete to Win a Gold Medal
The Paris Nord Arena witnessed yet another unstoppable victory by the Iranian team, which defeated Germany 3-0 in the last group stage match of the Paralympic Games.
From the moment Morteza stepped onto the court, the atmosphere changed dramatically. A reverential silence turned into cheers and waving flags as the number 2 on the team made blocks and spikes that seemed impossible to stop. Despite his difficulty walking, which requires him to be dragged onto the court, Mehrzad has shown that this apparent disadvantage is actually his greatest strength.
“It was a great match. Morteza is a great player, one of the best. He has done so much for the team and always tries to give his best,” said Ali Kashfia, a star of Iranian sitting volleyball and a member of the national team’s coaching staff.
When Morteza was 16 years old, doctors diagnosed him with acromegaly, a chronic condition that causes the body to produce too much growth hormone. That same year, he suffered a fall while riding a bicycle, resulting in a serious injury.
Since then, despite several surgeries, his right leg stopped growing and is about 6 inches shorter than his left, which requires him to use a wheelchair. These adversities led him to isolate himself, as his disability caused him to become very depressed. “I felt like I was in prison and was afraid to go outside because of how I looked,” he said.
His life changed when he was discovered by the coach of Iran’s national sitting volleyball team, Hadi Rezaei, on a reality show about people with physical disabilities and unusual talents. Since then, Mehrzad found in volleyball “a new reason to live.”
Morteza faces an unexpected challenge at the Paris Paralympic Games: the lack of a bed adapted to his extraordinary height. In Tokyo, a special bed was provided for him, but in Paris, he has had to make do with sleeping on the floor of the Olympic village.
Despite this discomfort, his coach, Hadi Rezaeigarkani, told Olympics that “he doesn’t mind lying on the floor or not eating until he’s full. He’s determined to become a champion anyway.”
Morteza Mehrzad, a double Olympic champion in Rio and Tokyo, is determined to achieve a historic golden hat trick at Paris 2024. As the Iranian team continues its journey toward the podium, all eyes are on this ‘giant,’ whose impact on Paralympic sports is as great as his stature.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
