Colombian is world's shortest man at 27 inches
15:44, September 07, 2010 
Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 
Edward Nino Hernandez poses with his Guinness World Records certificate in his home in Bogota September 6, 2010. (Photo:chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
Edward Nino Hernandez is in many ways a typical 24-year-old Colombian male. He loves to dance reggaeton, dreams of owning a car, preferably a Mercedes, and wants to see the world.
Top on his list of people he would like to meet are Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone and former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
What sets Nino (pronounced NEE-nyoh) apart is his size.
He is slightly taller than a piece of carry-on luggage and weighs just 22 pounds (10 kilograms).
Nino has just been officially certified as the world's shortest living man by Guinness World Records, measuring 27 inches (70 centimeters).
"He hasn't grown since he was 2 years old," his mother, Noemi Hernandez, said of the oldest of her five living children.
The previous titleholder was He Pingping of China, who was 1.5 inches (4 centimeters) taller and died March 13. The Guinness people discovered Nino afterward.
They say Nino's reign is not likely to last long, however.
Khagendra Thapa Magar of Nepal is expected to take over after he turns 18 on October 14. He measures about 22 inches (56 centimeters) and is currently recognized by Guinness as the shortest living teen.
Doctors never could explain why Nino is so small, his parents say.
"They never gave us a diagnosis," his mother, Noemi Hernandez, said during an interview in the family's sparely furnished apartment in Bosa, a mostly poor district of southern Bogota.
Hernandez, 43, said Nino weighed just 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) at birth and was 15 inches (38 centimeters) long.
She said doctors at the National University studied him until he was 3, then lost interest. She and her husband, a security guard, lost a daughter who was similarly small in 1992 when she was about to complete a year of life.
Edward Nino Hernandez walks with his mother Nohemi outside their home in Bogota September 6, 2010.(Photo:chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
Source:chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies
 |
（Editor：梁军）
Dancers from National Ballet Troupe of Spain perform during a rehearsal for the press at Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, Sept. 29, 2011. The troupe will put on Dualia and La Leyenda, two folk dances here from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. (Xinhua/Wu Ching-teng) 
Players of Iran throw up their coach Velasco Julio during the awarding ceremony at the 16th Asian Men's Volleyball Championship in Tehran, capital of Iran, Sept. 29, 2011. Iran won the champion after beating China 3-1 in the final on Thursday. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz) 
Greek artists burn copies of emergency tax notices during a protest against austerity measures in Athens, Greece, on Sept. 29, 2011. The Greek government is facing a new wave of protests as it introduces new austerity measures to obtain the sixth tranche of aids necessary to overcome the acute debt crisis.(Xinhua/Marios Lolos) 
A winner of the 36th Miss Bikini International 2011 poses for a photo at the Olympic Sailing Center in Qingdao, a coastal city of east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 29, 2011. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli) 
Staff members are in position at Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 29, 2011. Commander-in-chief of China's manned space program Chang Wanquan announced Thursday night that the launch of Tiangong-1 space lab module was successful. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) 
Champion of Miss Bikini from Poland receives trophy at the final of the 36th Miss Bikini International World Competition in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 28, 2011. (Xinhua Photo)
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7132549.pdf