No bed, no problem for world’s second tallest man Morteza Mehrzad as he sets his sights on Paralympic hat-trick

From isolation to worldwide recognition: Morteza Mehrzadselakjani’s transformation through sport

Coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani was the one who discovered Mehrzadselakjani when the future athlete appeared on a TV reality show in 2011 to talk about the challenges he faces in everyday life. He reached out to the network to ask for a way to contact the young man.

Mehrzadselakjani was diagnosed with acromegaly at a young age, a rare condition that causes excess growth in parts of the body. A bicycle accident in his teenage years resulted in an injured pelvis and stunted the growth of his right leg. It is now about six inches shorter than his left leg with the 36-year-old athlete sometimes using a wheelchair to move.

Rezaeigarkani, who himself started playing sitting volleyball in 1983 and has competed at three Paralympic Games as a player, understands well the struggles Mehrzad has gone through as a person with disability.

“I believe that Morteza has spent 11 years in his room, in his house, without going out,” Rezaeigarkani said. “Because he is the tallest man, when he wanted to leave the home and come outside, unfortunately, he was not satisfied because so many people [stared at] him. But nowadays all people are going to look at him as a champion.”

Mehrzad joined the national team in 2015 and went to his first Paralympic Games, at Rio 2016, six months later. That tournament saw Iran back at the top of the podium after finishing with silver at London 2012.

The team defended their Paralympic title at Tokyo 2020 with Mehrzad grabbing the spotlight as one of their key players.

His powerful spikes make “the kind giant” a formidable foe for Iran’s opponents. Even when sitting down on the court, with his arms raised Mehrzad is over six feet tall.

He was named the Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker at Tokyo 2020, and Best Spiker at the 2022 world championships.

So, is Mehrzad the best sitting volleyball player ever? His coach smiles, shakes his head, and says it is about much more than this.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “But Morteza can be considered the best player on our team. As a matter of fact, if you go back to Morteza when he was 12 years old, no one had any consideration for him, but when he became a sitting volleyball player, everyone, all around the world know him and respect him. I would like to give you one sentence – I believe that each person has got potential in the world and we have to discover it.”