Sidestep: Kojomkul - a living giant

Living in a small village in Kyrgyzstan, he was an extraordinary man and hero. Kaba Uluu Kojomkul, whose name means Koschomkul son of Kaba was a real giant who was incredibly strong. Born in 1888 in the Koschomkul in the Suusamyr Valley he made an everlasting impression on those he met and the memory of him is still kept alive among the locals. That’s why the village where he was born is named after him.

The locals admired him so much that they built an unusual monument in his honor, he was much more than just a very tall and strong man. Kaba Uluu Kojomkul was a unique individual who had a good heart and that’s the reason why he was nicknamed the gentle giant. He loved animals, people in general and he was especially fond of children.

Standing 2.30 m (7ft 6") tall and more than 250 kg, Kaba Uluu Kojomkul was a remarkable athlete who became a sensation when people saw him perform. He won all wrestling and strength competitions along the Silk Road, and he remained undefeated until the end of his life.

When locals recall his strength, they often mention a story of how he carried a heavy boulder. According to the legend one day his riding horse got stuck in high mud in continuous rain. Not being able to ride anymore, he took the horse on his shoulder and carried it 100 m until it was able to walk again. Another local story tells Kaba Uluu Kojomkul placed a 160 kg boulder that he had carried several kilometers from the riverbed on his mother's grave. His strength was remarkable, but his good deeds were equally impressive. He never hesitated to donate sheep and horses won in competitions to villagers in need, which of course made him a loved and respected man among his people.

The giant Kaba Uluu Kojomkul would not let anything bad happened to another person, even if he meant he had to be punished himself. During the Great Purge in Russia when many prominent Old Bolsheviks were found guilty of treason and executed or imprisoned, the giant of Kyrgyzstan suddenly found himself in trouble. At the time, in 1937 he was the chairman of a kolkhoz farm (a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union). When Kaba Uluu Kojomkul was approached by the NKVD, the Interior Ministry of the USSR, and asked to give false testimony against the chairman of the kolkhoz in the neighboring village, the giant refused. This led to that he was sentenced to one year in prison, which he received in a remote prison camp, but fortunately, he survived this, and could later return back to his people. Now he was even more popular than before.

Kaba Uluu Kojomkul died in 1955 and he is still a folk hero.

So what's the point of this article? It is that a fit healthy, 'non-gigantism deformed' man, can exist, work, and play sport unaided by any supportive device (eg cane). Those saying giants never existed always say those that did were likely deformed or suffered congenital issues like Wadlow etc. This proves that is not true. Real giants could, and did, exist and this man, at 7'6" proves it... and he was alive in the 20th century at that!