Guinness World Records® Reveals New Tallest Married Couple at the Guinness World Records Museum

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Guinness World Records, the global authority on record breaking, today announces the new "Tallest Married Couple" at the Guinness World Records Museum in Hollywood, California. The colossal couple - Wayne and Laurie Hallquist from Stockton, California - stand a jaw-dropping 13.44 ft. (407.4 cm). Wayne is a ceiling-grazing, doorway bumping 6 feet 10.4 inches tall and Laurie is an impressive 6 feet 5.95 inches. With a combined height measuring more than 13 feet 4-inches tall, these tall drinks of water really take love to new heights!

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101118/NY04206 )

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101118/NY04206 )

In honor of Guinness World Records Day 2010, an international celebration of record-breaking feats, the new "Tallest Married Couple" will commemorate their new title as well as seven years of monumental marriage in a Guinness World Records ceremony unlike any other. Official adjudicator Stuart Claxton will preside over the couple's astounding achievement and announce the dynamic duo's incredible proportions while presenting the pair with an official Guinness World Records certificate.

"We're excited and proud," declared the statuesque Laurie. "Representing the U.S. in this year's Guinness World Records Day is quite a thrill."

The lofty pair met at a singles gathering hosted by their local Baptist church seven years ago and have been happily married ever since. Wayne currently works as a telecommunications engineer and Laurie, a former women's basketball player at California State University, is a Stockton realtor. The Hallquists collect classic cars, enjoy boating and sleep in a California King size bed measuring 7 ft.! They currently do not have children.

NOTES TO EDITOR:

Guinness World Records 2011 was published on September 15th, 2010 and is the latest edition of the world's best-selling copyright book (115 million copies to date). Guinness World Records is the globally-recognized authority on record-breaking achievements.

Some of the top height and marriage-related records include:

* Previous Tallest Married Couple

The previous record-holders for “Tallest Married Couple” were Wilco (Netherlands) and Keisha van Kleef-Bolton (UK) with a combined average height of 13 ft. 3.3 in. (404.7 cm).  The couple met after Keisha contacted the UK’s Tall Persons Club in search of a dance partner. Shortly afterward, the tall twosome were married at the All Saints Church in London on November 27, 2001. Guinness World Records recorded the pair’s record at their home in England, on March 18, 2009.

* Tallest Married Couple Ever

Anna Hanen Swan (Canada) (1846–88) was said to be 8 ft. 1 in. (2.46 m) but actually measured 7 ft. 5.5 in. (2.27 m). On June 18, 1871, she married Martin van Buren Bates (USA) (1845–1919) who stood 7 ft. 2.5 in. (2.2 m), making them the tallest married couple on record.

* Tallest American Man Living

The Tallest Living Man in the United States of America is Igor Vovkovinskiy (USA) who measured 7 ft. 8.33 in. (2.34 m) at The Dr. Oz Show in New York, New York, USA on May 18, 2010.

* Tallest Man Living

The tallest man living is Sultan Kosen (Turkey, b. December 10, 1982) who measured 8 ft. 1 in. (246.5 cm) in Ankara, Turkey, on February 11, 2009. Sultan is also the record holder for the largest feet on a living person.

* Tallest Man Ever

The tallest man in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence is Robert Pershing Wadlow (USA) (born 6:30 a.m. at Alton, Illinois, USA on February 22, 1918), who when last measured on June 27, 1940, was found to be 8 ft. 11.1 in. (2.72 m) tall. Wadlow died at 1:30 a.m. on July 15, 1940 in a hotel in Manistee, Michigan, as a result of a septic blister on his right ankle caused by a brace, which had been poorly fitted only a week earlier.

* Tallest Woman Living

Yao Defen (China) recorded an average height of 7 ft. 7 in. (233.3 cm) when last documented. There is evidence that suggests she may still be growing, as a portion of tumor remains on her pituitary gland, the organ that regulates the production of growth hormone. She was born on July 15, 1972 in Liuan, Anhui, Shucheng, China.

* Tallest Woman Ever

Zeng Jinlian (China) (b. June 26, 1964) of Yujiang village in the Bright Moon Commune, Hunan Province, measured 8 ft. 1.75 in. (2.48 m) when she died on February 13, 1982. This figure represented her height with assumed normal spinal curvature because she suffered from severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and could not stand up straight. She began to grow abnormally from the age of four months and stood 5 ft. 1.5 in. (1.56 m) before her fourth birthday and 7 ft. 1.5 in. (2.17 m) when she was 13.  

* Greatest Height Differential – Married Couple

Fabien Pretou (France) (b. June 15, 1968) who stood at 6 ft. 2 in. (188.5 cm) married Natalie Lucius (France) (b. January 19, 1966) measuring 3 ft. 1 in. (94 cm) tall at Seyssinet-Pariset, France on April 14, 1990, a height difference of 37 in. (94.5 cm). 

* Shortest Married Couple 

Douglas Maistre Breger da Silva (b. September 21, 1969) and Claudia Pereira Rocha (b. September 6, 1972) (both Brazil) when married on the October 27, 1998, in Curitiba, Brazil, measured 35 in. (90 cm) and 36 in. (93 cm) respectively.

* Longest Marriage - Living Couple

Herbert Fisher (USA, b. June 10, 1905) and Zelmyra Fisher (USA, b. December 10, 1907) were married on May 13, 1924 in North Carolina, USA. They had been married 84 years 50 days as of June 1, 2008.

* Oldest Married Couple - Aggregate Age

Karl Delven (Norway, b. August 31, 1897) married Gudrun Haug (Norway, b. October 14, 1900) at Hole, Norway, on June 4, 1927. They remained married until Gudrun's death on April 24, 2004. At this time Gudrun was aged 103 years 193 days and Karl was 106 years 237 days - an aggregate age of 210 years 65 days.

About Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement.  First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy.  Guinness World Records also annually publishes the Gamer's Edition; a records book devoted solely to the world of computer gaming and high score record achievements.  

SOURCE Guinness World Records