Morteza Mehrzad. The tallest Paralympian in Rio, and indeed the tallest athlete in the history of the Paralympic Games, is a well read person.

Mehrzad helped the Iranian team to defeat twice its arch-rival Bosnia and Herzegovina in Riocentro to reclaim the title after eight years.

The Persians have won six times out of eight Paralympic Games.

As a 15-year-old, Mehrzad suffered a serious pelvis fracture in a bicycle accident. The injury caused his right leg to stop growing, and it is now six inches shorter than his left leg, making it difficult for him to walk.

Mehrzad, who started sitting volleyball five years ago, uses wheelchair or crutches to get around at the moment.

Accidentally, he was invited to the sitting volleyball national team after participated in a state-run TV program and the Iranian Paralympics officials found out the giant player could help the team in the upcoming matches.

“I was forced to sit in my home since I was very tall and I felt ashamed and restless. The sport helped me to push away my concerns,” Mehrzad said.

“Being at home created a good chance for me as well to watch so many films and to read a lot of books. I am used to reading many books and for example I’ve read 20 books so far in the current year,” the sitting volleyball player prodigy added.

“So many of people think I am only a tall man but I can do so many things that they don’t know about them,” Mehrzad said.

“I am very happy for several reasons. First of all I experienced the Paralympic Games for the first time. Second, I was invited to the sitting volleyball team. I was also happy since I was in starting line-up and finally I won the gold medal with the team,” he stated.