Huge 7ft 4in man dies aged 33 after complications with growing too tall

Huge 7ft 4in man dies aged 33 after complications with growing too tall Sulemana Abdul Samed had began growing drastically in his early 20s as his tongue became swollen, which later led to his whole body growing and his spine curving A man who never stopped growing has died aged 33 after complications linked to his rare condition Sulemana Abdul Samed, who measured 7ft 4in but was believed to have grown even taller before his death, died on Monday after sores on his legs became infected. Known across Ghana by his nickname Awuche, he became the local celebrity whose extraordinary height put his hometown of Gambaga on the map. Sulemana Abdul Kudus, a relative, said: “Everyone knew how generous and kind he was. From when he died until now, a lot of people are still coming to the house to find out what exactly happened.” Samed’s life changed dramatically in his early 20s after he suddenly began growing at an extraordinary rate. He had been working in a butcher’s shop in the capital, Accra, and saving to attend driving school when he woke one morning to find his tongue had swollen and he could no longer breathe properly. Over the following days, he realised the rest of his body was also continuing to grow. As his height increased, his spine began to curve and he was eventually forced to give up his dream of becoming a driver as well as his love of football. In an interview in 2023, he said: “I was planning to go to driving school, but even when I shift the seat back, I can’t hold the steering wheel… I can’t stretch my leg because my knee will knock the wheel. “I used to play football like every other young man, I was athletic but now I cannot even walk short distances.” Doctors later diagnosed Samed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition affecting the body’s connective tissue. The NHS said the condition affects around one in 5,000 people in the UK and can cause people to be unusually tall with long limbs, fingers and toes, as well as serious heart problems. He died in hospital in the northern city of Tamale after being admitted when sores on his legs became infected. Relatives said the sores were not directly caused by his syndrome but were likely a complication. Kudus told the BBC: “Anywhere he found himself in the country and they asked him, he would say he is from Gambaga and people knew that was where the tallest man was from. It gave the community identity, and he was popular as well.” His fame even led to the brother of Ghana’s president, John Mahama, offering to pay his medical bills after he struggled to access treatment. Samed’s height also sparked speculation that he could challenge for the title of the world’s tallest man when a hospital once recorded him at 9ft 6in - a measurement that would have made him the tallest person in recorded history. It later emerged the figure had only been an estimate because staff did not have equipment capable of measuring him accurately. Journalists who later visited his home measured him at 7ft 4in. According to Guinness World Records, the world’s tallest living man is Sultan Kosen, from Turkey, at 8ft 3in. The tallest person ever recorded was American Robert Wadlow, who reached 8ft 11in before dying aged 22 in 1940.