Morteza Mehrzadselakjani, often referred to as Morteza Mehrzad (born 17 September 1987), is an Iranian volleyball player who plays on the

Iran men's national sitting volleyball team The Iran men's national sitting volleyball team represents the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran in international sitting volleyball competitions and friendly matches. The team is one of the dominant forces on the court worldwide. In foreign media, ...

. With a height of 2.46 m, he also holds the record for the longest hand in the world with a size of 29 cm. He is known as the tallest living man in Iran and the second tallest living man in the world. He won three gold medals at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

and

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

, is two-time World Para Volleyball champion, three-time gold medalist at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

with

, and three-time winner of the Golden Ball award for the best player (won in 2019, 2021 and 2022). He has

acromegaly Acromegaly is a disorder that results in excess growth of certain parts of the human body. It is caused by excess growth hormone (GH) after the growth plates have closed. The initial symptom is typically enlargement of the hands and feet. There ...

, and has won the Gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championship and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and 2022 Sitting Volleyball World Championship in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

with

Biography

Mehrzad was born with a rare medical condition called

gigantism Gigantism (, ''gígas'', "wiktionary:giant, giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average height, average. In humans, this conditi ...

which is triggered by excessive growth hormone production in the brain's pituitary gland. He was measured to be over 6 feet 2 inches at the age of 16. When he was 15 he had a bicycle accident which caused a serious

pelvic fracture A pelvic fracture is a break of the bony structure of the pelvis. This includes any break of the sacrum, hip bones (ischium, pubis, ilium), or tailbone. Symptoms include pain, particularly with movement. Complications may include internal ble ...

. The accident stopped his right leg from growing, leaving it about 15 centimeters shorter than his left leg. He started to feel depressed after the accident and began using a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

crutch A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the human leg, legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities. Hi ...

es and a

walking stick A walking stick (also known as a walking cane, cane, walking staff, or staff) is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion acces ...

following the accident.

Career

His talent was spotted and identified by Iran national head coach

Hadi Rezaei Hadi Rezaeigarkani (born December 10, 1960) is an Iranian sitting volleyball coach, and former player with world and Paralympic medals, the most proud sitting volleyball coach in the world, currently as the head coach of Iran's men's sitting volle ...

in 2011 after watching a television program which talked about unusual and disabled talented people. Hadi quickly got in touch with the television network to inquire about Mehrzad who was also one of the disabled talents to have participated in the program. Hadi convinced and encouraged Mehrzad to play sitting volleyball. He was selected for Iran's national team in March 2016 after undergoing training sessions at various regional clubs in Iran and made his international debut in 2016 at the Paralympics qualifiers. Subsequently, he was also selected for the national team to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, which marked his Paralympic debut. In the 2016 Summer Paralympics sitting volleyball final, he was the match top scorer with 28 points for Iran. Iran eventually secured a gold medal after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 in the final. He was also the second best spiker during the 2016 Rio Paralympics. In 2018, he helped Iran win the 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championship, securing Iran's first world title in 8 years, after a 3–0 victory over defending champions Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final. In the 2020 Summer Paralympics sitting volleyball tournament, Mehrzad won his second gold medal at the Paralympic Games after Iran defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in the semi-final and Russia 3–1 in the final. In 2022, he won his second Sitting Volleyball World Championship with Iran's national team in the 2022 Sitting Volleyball World Championship, after a 3–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final. In the 2024 Summer Paralympics sitting volleyball tournament, Mehrzad won his third gold medal at the Paralympic Games with Iran's national sitting volleyball team, after defeating Egypt 3-1 in the semi-final and Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 in the final. He was Iran's top scorer in the gold medal match, scoring 25 points.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehrzad, Morteza 1987 births Living people Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Iran Iranian sitting volleyball players Men's sitting volleyball players People with acromegaly Sportspeople from Mazandaran province Paralympic medalists in volleyball Paralympic volleyball players for Iran People with gigantism Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics 21st-century Iranian sportsmen Medalists at the 2018 Asian Para Games

Biography

Career

See also

References

External links