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Tallest man in US gets custom-made tennis shoes

October 19, 2012 GMT

Igor Vovkovinskiy of Rochester, Minn, the tallest person living in America, speaks with WCCO reporter Holly Wagner about his new custom made size 24 Reebok Shoes Thursday, October 18, 2012 at the Rochester Athletic Club in Rochester, Minn. Vovkovinskiy, who is 7 feet 8.33 inches tall, was given three pairs of shoes from Reebok, each sporting IGOR logos. (AP Photo/Rochester Post-Bulletin, Michele Jokinen)

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — It was a tall order to fill, but the tallest man in the United States now has his own custom-made tennis shoes.

Igor Vovkovinskiy (voh-kov-IN’-ski) stands just over 7 feet, 8 inches tall. He’s long struggled to find shoes for his size 24, 10E feet.

But the 30-year-old Minnesota man received three custom-made pairs Thursday from Reebok that took five months to make. As he tried on a pair, he said it felt as if he were “walking on pillows or mattresses.”

For as long as he can remember, he’s had one pair of shoes. He says he’s had 16 foot surgeries in six years because of damage caused by ill-fitting shoes.

The Post-Bulletin reports that Vovkovinskiy knew who he’d tell first about his new shoes, saying: “My mom.”

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Information from: Post-Bulletin, http://www.postbulletin.com