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Read More: The Changing Face of Sumo Wrestling

Sumo is a sport that has been central to Japanese tradition dating back around 1,500-years, but in modern times it has been beset by a series of scandals and has long been grappling with falling numbers and a lack of local champion fighters. “In addition to my own power, I felt that some different power was working.”

Indeed, Kisenosato has set another record: It took him 89 rounds of tournaments to become yokozuna, the slowest record in modern sumo history.
In sumo wrestling, Kisenosato Yutaka becomes the 72nd yokozuna. He is the first Japanese national to effect the promotion to the highest rank in 19 years.