Olivier Rioux of the Florida Gators during a game against the LSU Tigers on November 16, 2024 in Gainesville, Florida. ; Olivier Roux’s father Jean-François Rioux. Photo:
James Gilbert/Getty ; CTV News
Olivier Rioux‘s heights might be record-breaking, but he doesn’t feel so different around his parents — Jean-François Rioux and Anne Gariépy — who are both impressively tall.
At 7’9,” Olivier is the world’s tallest male teenager, according to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2022. In kindergarten, he was 5’2,” and by age 8, Olivier towered at 6’1″.
“We’re still not 100% sure why I’m so tall — after investigation, doctors could only explain it with the genetics that my family has,” he told Guinness. “My father is 6’8, my mom is 6’2, and my older brother is 6’9. So we’re a pretty tall family!”
Olivier grew up in the Montreal suburb of Terrebonne in Canada, where he was an active child. “I have been playing basketball since I was five years old,” he said. “The opposing team would often question my age because even as a five-year-old, I was much taller than the other kids!”
Today, Olivier is a freshman playing center for the University of Florida’s Gators, who are facing off against the Auburn Tigers for the NCAA semifinal on April 5. Even though he won’t be playing in the game, he told ESPN how excited he was that his team made it to the Final Four.
“I think it’s part of the dream for everybody in the sport, and it’s amazing for me to be a part of this,” the 19-year-old college athlete shared.
With Olivier breaking records on and off the court, here’s everything to know about his parents, Jean-François Rioux and Anne Gariépy.
Olivier Rioux with father Jean-François Rioux and mother Anne Gariépy. CTV News
Both Jean-François and Anne Gariépy are retired volleyball players.
According to the Florida Gators website, Olivier’s family members have “played a variety of sports, including volleyball and swimming.”
Jean-François now works at a packaging company, while Anne is an employee at the Royal Bank of Canada.
Florida center Olivier Rioux warms up before an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest on November 28, 2024 in Kissimmee, Florida. AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
Coming from a tall family helps Olivier feel comfortable with his height: Jean-François is 6’8″ and Anne is 6’2.”
In a February 2023 interview with Canada’s W5 investigative TV program, Jean-François shared that his earliest memories of Olivier were of how tall he was growing.
The following fall, Olivier spoke to the Associated Press and revealed that he gets asked questions about his height “every day.”
“You don’t have a single three seconds to yourself when you’re outside, which I was fine with because my brother and my dad are tall,” he told the outlet in October 2024. “As a family, we used to go out, and that’s just how it was. You can’t change that because people are curious.”
Olivier Rioux with father Jean-François Rioux and older brother Émile Rioux. CTV News
Olivier has an older brother, Emile, who also enjoys playing basketball. In addition to hitting the courts, both siblings are tall, with Emile standing at 6’9″.
In his AP interview, Olivier remembers the day he outgrew his entire family, including his brother.
“At my meemaw’s house, we had the wall [where] me and my brother used to measure ourselves. And then one day, poof, my brother was gone,” he recalled.
Olivier was raised in Anjou, a borough of Montreal. According to his Instagram, he still makes time to visit his family in Canada, even if it’s a little snowier than down in Florida.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Jean-François is employed at SupremeX Inc., a packaging company in Quebec. He previously worked in the photography business for five years and shared that the art form is a “passion” for him.
Olivier Rioux with father Jean-François Rioux and older brother Émile Rioux. CTV News
During his interview with W5, Jean-François was asked what Olivier was like, to which he replied, “He’s very cool. It’s like he’s just surfing around and chilling with people, he’s very friendly. Every day in his life, he has to figure out that he’s taller than everyone.”
When asked if he was afraid of his son becoming “a spectacle” because of his height, Jean-François advised people, “At some point, if you see him, you can say ‘Hi,’ you can say ‘Hey, how are you, big guy?’ But don’t be rude.”
“Don’t think you’re the first one of the day asking how tall he is,” he continued. “Be respectful, but Olivier likes it, so it’s okay. It’s important to respect that for Olivier, but I’ll also respect the fact that there [are] always people asking.”
In an April 2025 interview with CBS Sports, Olivier explained that his dad was his “model” when dealing with his height.
“Whenever we were at the mall or whatever … everyone would come up to us and say, ‘Oh my God, how tall are you? Even your child is tall.’ But it was always respectful,” Olivier recounted.
