Alexander Sizonenko
Encyclopedia
Alexander Alekseyevich Sizonenko ' onMouseout='HidePop("39792")' href="/topics/Kherson_Oblast">Kherson Oblast
, Ukrainian SSR
) is a former Soviet
basketball
player. Possibly the tallest person to ever play professional basketball, he was measured by Guinness World Records
at 2.39 metre and named the world's tallest man in 1991. Sizonenko is said to have grown since this measurement was taken, although age has reduced his standing height considerably. Because of his enormous growth, his mobility is increasingly impaired. He received an offer from plastinator
Gunther von Hagens
for his body but he declined the offer.
He played professionally for Spartak Leningrad (1976–1978) and for Stroitel Kuybyshev (1979–1986).
Sizonenko was also a member of the Soviet national team
and appeared on its behalf for 12 games.
He now lives in Saint Petersburg
. He is divorced and has a son Alexander born in 1994.
Kherson Oblast
Kherson Oblast is an oblast in southern Ukraine, just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson. The area of the region is 29000 km², its population is 1.12 million.Important cities in the oblast include:...
, Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
) is a former Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. Possibly the tallest person to ever play professional basketball, he was measured by Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
at 2.39 metre and named the world's tallest man in 1991. Sizonenko is said to have grown since this measurement was taken, although age has reduced his standing height considerably. Because of his enormous growth, his mobility is increasingly impaired. He received an offer from plastinator
Plastination
Plastination is a technique or process used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most properties of the original sample....
Gunther von Hagens
Gunther von Hagens
Gunther von Hagens is a controversial German anatomist who invented the technique for preserving biological tissue specimens called plastination.-Early life:...
for his body but he declined the offer.
He played professionally for Spartak Leningrad (1976–1978) and for Stroitel Kuybyshev (1979–1986).
Sizonenko was also a member of the Soviet national team
Soviet Union national basketball team
The Soviet national basketball team was the basketball side that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor countries all set up their own national teams...
and appeared on its behalf for 12 games.
He now lives in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. He is divorced and has a son Alexander born in 1994.