Talk:Leonid Stadnyk

Height
Stadnyk certainly is not 8 feet 4. He's probably closer to 7 feet 4.
 * Well that's nowhere near the record. Something's amiss. Uhh, why is the biologist stub there? Is a veterinarian a biologist now? That's a bit like saying a mechanic is an engineer, or a tailor is a fashion designer...
 * It looks like Guinness have measured him at 8ft 5.5in and now officially recognize him as "the new Tallest Living Human Being," to be included in the 2008 edition - Source
 * Also, they spell his name correctly as Leonid Stadnyk.
 * BTW, the red-and-blue flag in the infobox on the article's main page is not that of Ukraine but of the non-existent Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the non-existent USSR. Ukraine's flag is blue-and-yellow.

Tallest man - living
Xi Shun (China, b. 1951), measured 7 ft 8.95 in (2 m 36.1 cm) as a result of six measurements taken on January 15, 2005, at Chifeng City Hospital, Inner Mongolia, China.

Beating the previous holder Radhouane Charbib (Tunisia) by just 2 mm (0.07 in), Xi Shun claims that his height was normal for his age until he was 16. As a comparison, his father stood at 5 ft 10.8 in (1.8 m) and his mother was 5 ft 2.8 in (1.6 m) tall.

Source الثاقب (WiseSabre| talk) 06:28, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Look at the photos carefully of Stadnik. He is most certainly 8ft 4 or even more by now. He absolutely towers over normal people. He is unofficially recognized by Guinness as the tallest man. A Guinness representative in the Ukraine measured him at that height.

Fraud alert
Stadnik has been making a living out of his claim for years but always refuses measurements. As someone over 7 feet tall myself and looking at him next to people in photos and in reference to the doorways and household objects I would say he is anywhere from 7' 0" (212-214 cm) to 7' 6" (228-230 cm) and probably right around my height of 7' 3" (221 cm). He most definitely is nowhere near 8' 4".
 * Not if Ukrainian doors are the same size as a standard door in my country. It's a dumb thing to stand next to if you are exaggerating your height. Osomec 04:59, 17 December 2005 (UTC)

You're 7 ft 3? wow, shouldn't we be discussing your height in the Guinness Book aswell?

The picture of him next to Yuschenko makes him look about 7 foot

Photo comparison
Of course this doesn't count as enough proof for an encyclopedia, but everyone's free to make their opinions based on this image someone came up with. On the left Robert Wadlow within a year from his death (was 265 cm/8 ft 8½ in on his 21st birthday and 268 cm/8 ft 9½ in on his 22nd), and his father (180 cm/5 ft 11 in). On the right Stadnyk with his mother (152 cm/5 ft according to some news articles, like this). --Anshelm &#39;77 (talk) 15:04, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

My independent photographic analysis of Stadnyk's height
I came to the conclusion that Leonid Stadnyk, though not 8 feet 4 inches tall, is still "probably" about as tall as Charbib and Xi Shun are.

I was able to get a photo of Stadnyk standing next to a Mr. Gerd Klopper (German)who is (178cm)5 ft 10 inches in his shoes. based on pixle height and cm height ratios,and after 5 careful measurements I arrived at a stature of around 242 cm (7 ft 11) for stadnyk in his shoes. If we subtract 2.5 inches from the heel, (he wears big soles)than Mr. Stadnyk is probably 7 ft 8 to 7 ft 9 inches tall, without shoes on.


 * It appears you are correct. PenguinJockey (talk) 19:02, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

Name is incorrect
I've just realised that his name isn't Leonid Stadnik, It's Leonid StadnYk. This article will have to have all the names changed to this spelling and make a redirect leading with this spelling to the current article unless the page is moved.

ok, but it doesn't matter what you think, because you're the only person who thinks he's not 8'4", while all of the news casts and even the Guiness Book of World Records know his height, but he refuses to be included in the book.

A foot doesn't make as big a difference as you think, at that height anyway.


 * It makes a *HUGE* difference - yes, even at that height. 67.170.176.203 08:55, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

--Tuscaloosa11 08:32, 10 February 2006 (UTC) Guinness World Records have doubts about his alleged height aswell. Stadnik may verywell be 8ft 4, but until scientificly proven measurements are observed and published, all I do know for sure is that he is apparently equal or greater than 7 ft 6.


 * One subject at a time, please. Who says the spelling is incorrect? Why was the page moved? Guiness give his name as Stadnik. His own website gives it as Stadnik. Surely the only empirically correct spelling is Стадник? Now we have an article called Leonid Stadnyk about a man called Leonid Stadnik. This is silly. Please justify the spelling and change spellings throughout the article, or move it back to Leonid Stadnik. TheMadBaron 15:23, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Hmmm... and still it hasn't been moved back... Mathmo Talk 16:55, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I presume it hasn't been moved back because the Ukrainian alphabet distinguishes и from і, and the Ukrainian transliteration used on Wikipedia uses /y/ for Ukrainian и. The Ukrainian alphabet isn't the same as the Russian alphabet, and thus there's no reason why the transliteration systems for the two must be the same. If the Ukrainian spelling of the name is correct, then Stadnyk is the appropriate transliteration. Thefamouseccles 05:08, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

According to ABC's 20/20, the Guinness Book of 2008 will recognize Leonid Stadnik as the tallest man at 8 ft 5.5 inches. --71.222.54.25 06:20, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

Leonid Stadnik could well be a contender for the title of tallest man. Photographic evidence indicates he is about 7ft 10 1/2 in his shoes, perhaps representing a standing height of 7'8 to 7'9 without them. He is no where near 8 ft 5.5, a stature which Wadlow attained at age 18, and at that age looked significantly taller than Stadnik is.--71.222.54.25 03:11, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Guinness Change-of-Face
Greetings,

In the new 2008 Guinness edition (see p. 12, p. 64), they decided to accept Leonid Stadnik because he was measured by Prof. Michael Besser of the UK. They concluded that, even if not exactly 8 ft 5.5 inches he would still be taller than 7 ft. 9 inches. However, they did wish that he would allow them to measure him 'exactly'.Ryoung122 08:04, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Re: But there is a slight problem with this notion. In recent years, Guinness will only accept measurements verified by their officials, and they consider second party measurements as suspect without verification. The fact that they completely abandoned these criteria, in Stadnyk's case is indeed supect. They claim that Dr. Michael Besser, a British Neurologist, measured Stadnyk in Kiev, in December of 2006. But Guinness has failed to present any conclusive evidence for his stature, photographic or otherwise, instead only reallying on "what the doctor said."--71.222.54.25 22:58, 9 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I've seen this concern in the past. But there are easy answer to it - in contrast to Olympic records that can last for 3 seconds only and after this it will be impossible to independently validate them - human height last for much longer. In case if Stadnyk is not height that he actually claimed - it's needed only one person to visit him and debunk his claim - up to date there is no such information. --TAG 07:37, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

TLC special
There was a TLC television special on him, which provides his whole life story, and even has updated information. I watched it and it turns out that he doesn't need surgery. I don't have a link on hand, but it is a good watch if you want to know about him. --Jay( Talk ) 00:46, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Stadnyk was NOT measured by Dr. Michael Besser
Besser has denied ever measuring him. But he says he did meet him in 2006. Leonid also has said that he does not like how Guinness has publicized him, and would rather remain private. --71.222.54.25 03:58, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Source? References?Ryoung122 03:59, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

My apologies. Here is the source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/stadnik-sperber-besser-1807308-year-growth --71.222.54.25 22:29, 17 August 2007 (UTC)


 * The only evidence of Stadnik's height is a certificate from the Ukrainian Book of Records, which measured him at 2.53 meters (or 8'4"). Using this citation you can still claim he is highest. --TAG 22:41, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Indeed, I and many others do believe he is among the highest living. His height of 2,53 m has been accepted by Guinness, and they have discarded the previous unverified 2,57 m claim: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/human_body/extreme_bodies/tallest_man_-_living.aspx

However, one should realize, that Stadnyk's height of 2,53 m DOES include his shoes. His actual barefoot height is roughly 2,48 m (8 ft 1.5 ins). This can be proven by photographic and video evidence which clearly shows that his head comes to within several cm of the 2,60 m ceiling portion of his house, and his shoulders exceed the door frame by several cm.--71.222.54.25 18:20, 18 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Shoes is not an issue then you need to get into doors. You simply reduce your height by standing not-fully vertically. He is simply not at full height then moving inside house. --TAG 00:26, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Date of birth
Note that one of the links above gives his age as 38 (article date August 13, 2007), and later it's said "On Aug. 5, he called to wish Stadnik [sic] a happy birthday." This would put his date of birth on August 5, 1969, and it's the most accurate age I've seen for him yet. Previously I've seen his age given at 34 in 2004 and 37 in 2007 – inconsistent with 1971, but not 1969. Though I have seen ages consistent with 1971 too.

Also, I've bought Guinness World Records 2008 (Finnish edition) today, and they say (page 64, may or may not be the same in other editions) that "Xi Shun" (Bao Xishun) is still the world's tallest officially documented living man, but based on his claimed 20+ cm advantage over the current record and Michael Besser's testimony, they felt confident enough to include him in the book even before his height was properly verified. Guinness also expressed their wish for him to submit to be measured by them, but judging from the above article – and others alike – that's not likely going to happen.

--Anshelm &#39;77 19:30, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Proof Stadnyk stands 7 ft 6 inches (228.60 cm)
http://leonidstadnyk.blogspot.com/

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnny C Yorkshire (talk • contribs) 03:39, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

so maybe it's time to add those speculations to the article!?82.166.145.40 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 14:36, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Good link there. It's time the public knew the truth that Stadnyk is a foot shorter than his claim. Guinness was more interested in the publicity and money involved if they added him to their new 2008 edition. The facts are Guinness has lost its credibility concerning human records of size and height, and if an internet blogger has been able to research more indepth, and discover new records (Grady Patterson etc.) then I do question the seriousness in which Guinness conducts their research on human stature, which has been one of their most popular records. --75.175.65.90 (talk) 03:38, 26 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree. Human body records seldom change and Guinness knows they are a crowd favourite. Their book is generally quite boring with ridiculous combination records (longest pogo jump while balancing an egg on your head and other similar garbage) being the only things that change regularly. I think you are correct, they jumped at the chance to update one of the greatest records and ignored the reality of it. Leonid was NEVER over 8 feet tall.

Time to re-write the article
Now that Guinness has withdrawn his record status, as noted already in an added final sentence, please can someone re-write the whole thing to give a clear overview of his claim - and that is apparently all it is. Earthlyreason (talk) 10:32, 20 August 2008 (UTC)

This is a serious blow for Guinness credibility. He never looked 8 feet 5 from the get go. If yous see some old video footage of Wadlow or Myllyrinne, you can clearly see they are 8 foot and above. --75.175.79.174 (talk) 01:07, 21 August 2008 (UTC)

Guinness status
Greetings,

To clear up some misconceptions:

1. Guinness World Records never officially measured Leonid Stadnyk.

2. The 2008 edition stated that he "appeared" to be taller than Li Xishun but this was never officialized--it was more of a "pending" situation.

3. The 2009 edition has returned the title to Li Xishun.

Ryoung 122 02:49, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

They never officially measured him, yet they still entered him as tallest man in order to boost sales of their book--which violates their original rules on human height records. They only questioned his height AFTER the books were already sold. I Consider this commercial dishonesty, and a ploy to draw interest into something which really was never confirmed. Guinness credibility is seriously in question. --75.175.63.232 (talk) 03:23, 22 April 2009 (UTC) Seriously? Why? Michael Besser measured him at 8 feet 5.5 inches in height, so he's 8 feet 5.5 inches tall. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.58.215.146 (talk) 01:11, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

5cm != 0.79in
Can someone who has access to the original article referenced here please correct the 5cm / 0.79in discrepancy? Thanks! LiberalFascist (talk) 17:07, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

The tallest living man
In 2007, the Guiness was by Leonid Stadnyk, attested by a officaly first measuring his height of 8,5 feet (2,57 m). And gigantism expert Prof. Michael Besser has attested this height already in 2006. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.7.117.33 (talk) 17:43, 14 May 2009 (UTC)


 * That's not true, he has never been officially measured, or measured at all, by Guinness. Ryoung 122 05:05, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Birth
Why are there two different years for his birth? --Ameki (talk) 21:18, 20 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Because I don't think anyone actually knows for sure. I've searched for quite a while and not been able to find a reliable source for his birth year, so I'll rewrite it to cover both. Manning (talk) 05:11, 21 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Also I was unable to find a ref for the August 5 birthdate - all of the refs I could find were quoting WP.Manning (talk) 05:12, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

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