Claire McCulloch, battling an extreme health condition and earning Australian sporting selection

A rising Sunshine Coast sports star, who at seven years old was 160cm tall and diagnosed with a gigantism-linked brain tumour, has revealed the radical steps taken to tame her growth.

Before she was a sporting superstar, Sunshine Coast schoolgirl Claire McCulloch was headed for the history books for a different reason.

At age 7, and already an incredible 160cm tall, she was diagnosed with the extremely rare Xlag Gigantism after doctors discovered a tumour on her pituitary gland (a pea-sized, hormone-producing endocrine which sits beneath the base of the brain and nose bridge).

Her family was warned that without surgical intervention, she would reach up to 2.5m, which could have earned her a place in the Guiness World Records (the tallest living woman is 215.16cm and the tallest in history was 246.3cm (8 ft, 1)

Six months of failed pharma-therapy in Brisbane followed before she was accepted into a research program in Washington DC with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Claire McCulloch in Washington DC in 2015 after surgery to remove her pituitary gland

“After nearly two months as an inpatient, the NIH cured me at the expense of losing my entire pituitary gland and I am now on full pituitary hormone replacement for life,” Ms McCulloch told the Sunshine Coast Daily

“I now take over 15 tablets a day, trying to mimic what my peers and pituitary glands make naturally.

“Most days I feel less than ordinary and always on alert for stress dosing to avoid the life-threatening adrenal crisis called cortisol deficiency.”

(Left) Claire at age 10 at Ripley’s with a model of the Alton Giant, who likely had same gene. (Right) Claire (middle) aged 7, 160cm, with her mother Toni McCulloch and her cousin Kirralee McCulloch who was born just six days before Claire.

Despite the enormous challenges she’s been faced with, the Mermaids Water Polo player, who is currently 177cm (nearly 5ft 10), recently represented Australia at the Water Polo Cadet World Championships.

The former representative basketball player and swimmer was also obliged to complete a Sports Integrity Australia (ASADA) Therapeutic Use Exemption form.

“Being a nationally identified player who’s on pituitary HRT meant we had to prove that at no stage since I was eight-years-old did I have an unfair sporting advantage as a result of my HRT,” she said.

The 15-year-old Matthew Flinders College student is part of the Flinders Elite Athlete Program and attended the world championships alongside Sunshine Coast boys' players Smith Connors and Auguste Korac.

She competed against a number of the world’s best teams in Greece from August 21 to 27, finishing in fourth place and said the experience to represent Australia was an amazing opportunity.

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“It isn’t just playing and working with the best players and coaches Australia has to offer, but it’s also been great to learn about the pressures of an international campaign and how to adapt to so many unforeseen circumstances involved in the month of travel and games against the best the world has to offer,” she said.

“One cherished personal memory was scoring a goal in front of a 1,000-strong home crowd in the tough semi-final against Greece.”

Ms McCulloch said she hoped to inspire others and had plans of securing a college scholarship to play water polo in America or Europe while studying medicine.

“I know first-hand what it is like to be both stressed and blessed to live with life-threatening conditions, but I hope to be able to demonstrate and encourage resilience for those with challenges to flourish,” she said.