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When The Shortest Met The Tallest!

November 25, 2024 17:17 IST

IMAGE: Rumeysa Gelgi with Jyoti Amge, the tallest and shortest women on earth. Photograph: Kind courtesy rumeysagelgi/Instagram

Jyoti Amge, the shortest lady on the planet, met Rumeysa Gelgi, the tallest woman on earth, for afternoon tea on the occasion of the 20th annual Guinness World Records Day at the Savoy Hotel in London last week.

Jyoti, who will be 31 soon and hails from Nagpur, is 62.8 centimetres or 2 ft 0.7 in tall.

Rumeysa, 27, stands 215.16 cm or 7 ft 0.7 in tall and lives in Turkey where she lives with her family.

Jyoti's abnormality is caused by achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that affects the arms and legs. It is a genetic disorder that occurs in the early stages of fetal development and causes short stature, impacting the cartilage tissue that should later form the bones of the child's arms and legs.

Rumeysa's height is due to a condition called Weaver syndrome, an extremely rare genetic condition that causes bone overgrowth following a mutation of the EZH2 gene. There are only about 50 such identified cases in the world.

Jyoti has appeared and acted in television series like The World's Smallest Woman: Meet Jyoti (2020), CAVE iN (2020), Beyond the Record (2017), American Horror Story FreakShow: Extra-Ordinary-Artists (2014), Gupse Özay in Rekorlar Dünyasi (2013), American Horror Story (2011), Bigg Boss (2006).

After home schooling, Rumeysa now works as a Web designer. She also appeared as the lead in the Guinness World Records documentary Rumeysa: Walking Tall.

She is just not the tallest woman in the world, she also holds records for the largest hands on a woman: 24.93 cm (9.81 in); the longest back on women: 59.90 cm (23.58 in); and the longest ears on a female.

Glimpses from Jyoti and Rumeysa's encounter in London:

 

IMAGE: Sunrise at Tower Bridge on Guinness World Records Day: Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday, who stands at 5 ft 7 in (170 cm), stands next to Rumeysa Gelgi (7 ft 0.71 in or 215.16 cm) and Jyoti Amge (2 ft 3/4 in or 62.8 cm). Photograph: Kind courtesy Guinness World Records/X

 

IMAGE: Rumeysa and Jyoti stand tall. Photograph: Kind courtesy Jyoti Amge/Instagram

 

IMAGE: Rumeysa and Jyoti have tea at the Savoy in London. Photograph: Kind courtesy guinnessworldrecords.com

 

IMAGE: Rumeysa holds Jyoti. Photograph: Kind courtesy rumeysagelgi/Instagram

 

IMAGE: The shortest and tallest women in the world. Photograph: Kind courtesy guinnessworldrecords.com

 

IMAGE: Rumeysa and Jyoti look for other record holders in the Guinness Book Of World Records. Photograph: Kind courtesy guinnessworldrecords.com

 

IMAGE: Craig presents Rumeysa with the special blue-and-gold certificate celebrating Rumeysa and Jyoti's status as Guinness World Records ICONS: The cream of the crop of record-breaking achievements. Photograph: Kind courtesy guinnessworldrecords.com

 

IMAGE: Craig presents Jyoti with her blue-and-gold certificate. Photograph: Kind courtesy guinnessworldrecords.com

 

IMAGE: The iconic women pose for a photo. Photograph: Kind courtesy rumeysagelgi/Instagram

 

IMAGE: Rumeysa and Jyoti compare their hands. Photograph: Kind courtesy rumeysagelgi/Instagram

 

IMAGE: Rumeysa and Jyoti enjoy reading the Guinness Book Of World Records. Photograph: Kind courtesy rumeysagelgi/Instagram

 

IMAGE: And the Guinness World Records notes 'Pizza brings people together'. Photograph: Kind courtesy Guinness World Records/Twitter

 

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com

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