Little meets large

Little meets large: World's smallest teenager takes his chances with the planet's biggest biceps

Last updated at 7:58 PM on 9th September 2010

Pint-sized Khagendra Thapa Magar is within reach of becoming the world's shortest man - as long as he doesn't suddenly have a growth spurt in the next two weeks.

At 22 inches, he is currently the shortest teenager on the planet.

But as soon as he turns 18 on October 14, he will be eligible to take on the title of the world's shortest adult male.

B-army: Body builder Tiny Iron has a bicep span of 24 inches - that's two inches more than the height of the world's smallest teenager Khagendra Thapa Magar

Displaying just how petite he really is, Magar was pictured today in London being held aloft by body builder Tiny Iron.

Spanning 24 inches, the 28-year-old Londoner has the largest biceps in the UK.

The pair were posing together at Ripley's Believe It Or Not! museum in London's Piccadilly, to promote the new book Ripley's Enter If You Dare.

Take that! Weighing just 10lb Magar is an unlikely opponent for 280lb Tiny Iron

This is is just the latest photo call for Magar, who was pictured on tour in New York earlier this week.

He is hoping to snatch the title from Edward Nino Hernandez, a 24-year-old Colombian dancer who measures just 27ins and who was officially recognised by Guinness on Monday.

Nino was 1.5ins shorter than the previous incumbent He Pingping of China, which means Khagendra will have shaved 2.5ins off Pingping's height.

The long and short of it: The pair were promoting museum Ripley's Believe It Or Not!'s new book

Guinness World Records editor in chief Craig Glenday said: 'The question is, will Nino still have the record by Christmas?

'With Khagendra in the wings, there's a good chance Nino will only hold the title for a few more weeks.'

Title holder...but not for long: Current world's shortest man Colombian Edward Nino poses with his Guinness World Records certificate at his home in Bogota

If you are curious as to why this little title means such big things to these men, then you only need look at how it transformed Pingping's life when he inherited the title in 2008, lifting him out of a life of poverty and transplanting him to a world of TV shows and international travel.

Magar's family first applied to have him recognised as the World's Shortest Man when he was just 14, but he was refused because of the possibility he could grow before he turned 18.