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The Guinness World Records has been keeping track of record-breaking achievements since 1955. There are more than 40,000 current records in their database and they range from the largest living cat, the highest mountain, longest fingernails, oldest person, shortest person, and more. On October 13th they announced the tallest living woman is in the world is Turkey’s Rumeysa Gelg who stands at an incredible 7ft 0.7in, (215.16cm.)
The record holder shared a video on Instagram and wrote in the caption that she was proud to finally share the news after keeping it a secret for 3 months. “My name is Rumeysa Gelgi and I am Guinness World Records title holder for the tallest living woman and previous holder of the tallest living female teenager,” she said in the clip.
Rumeysa describes herself as a world record holder, advocate, researcher, and Junior front-end developer on her Instagram profile where she has a little over 6 thousand followers. In her interview with GWR she said she enjoys a “Netflix and Chill” night and enjoys spending time with her parents who are very proud of the award. She was first awarded the title for the tallest teenager living (female) back in 2014 when she was 18 and she was remeasured this year at the age of 24.
Per, GWR, her tall stature is due to an extremely rare condition called Weaver syndrome which causes accelerated growth amongst other abnormalities including skeletal maturation. Due to the condition Rumeysa uses a wheelchair most of the time but can walk for short periods of time using her walker. Since her first record in 2014 Rumey has believed it’s important to use her platform to educate others about rare medical conditions like her own. In her interview she said the hardest thing bout being tall is the health problems, she was born with scoliosis and is “physicaly disabled” she explained. Watch the clip below about her life:
Rumeysa told GWR shse had to deal with bullying when she was young. Now when people see her on the street she says her height makes people intrigued but most are kind and supportive when they meet her for the first time. However some times she does get weird stares and questions from people. The 24-year-old remains positive and loves sharing her exciting news with fans like her time on set recording new projects. “Every disadvantage can be turned into an advantage for yourself so accept yourself for who you are, be aware of your potential and do your best,” she told GWR.
“It‘s an honor to welcome Rumeysa back into the record books. Her indomitable spirit and pride in standing out from the crowd is an inspiration. The category of tallest living woman is not one that changes hands very often, so I’m excited to share this news with the world.” Said Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief of Guinness World Records.
The previous record-holder was Yao Defen from China who recorded an average height of 7 ft 7 in, 233.3 cm when last documented back in 2010. The tallest living man is Sultan Kösen (8 ft 2.8 in, 251 cm;) and he also happens to be from Turkey.