is a Mongolian professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler from

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

. He began his professional sumo career in 2017 at the age of twenty three. His highest rank to date has been ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' 13. He wrestles for the Nishikido stable.

Early life and education

Growing up in Mongolia Turbold was a great athlete participating in many different sports like

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

, and

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

. He was especially good at speed skating having the ability to win at the district level. For high school Turbold studied abroad in Japan at

Tottori Jōhoku High School Tottori Jōhoku High School, also commonly known as Jōhoku High, is a private Secondary education in Japan, high school located in Tottori (city), Tottori, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The school is known for its baseball and sumo clubs, and a ra ...

, this is where he started training in sumo. After graduating from high school he entered

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

and their sumo club. In his third year at the university he won the All-Japan Sumo Championship giving him the title of amateur ''Yokozuna'' (the first foreigner to do so). The following year he served as the club captain, and won the National Student Sumo Championship and giving him the title of Student Yokozuna (also the first foreigner to do so).

Career

After graduating from university Turbold entered Nishikido stable, recruited by former ''

sekiwake , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

Mitoizumi Mitoizumi Masayuki (born 2 September 1962 as Masato Koizumi) is a former sumo wrestler from Mito, Ibaraki, Japan. His professional career spanned 22 years, from 1978 until 2000. The highest rank he reached was ''sekiwake''. He won over 800 caree ...

. His amateur success granted him ''

makushita tsukedashi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' status, allowing him skip the lower divisions and start at ''Makushita'' 15. He started his career with a ''makekoshi'' or losing record but quickly rebounded with three consecutive winning records. After this string of winning records he was given ''sekitori'' status by being promoted to the ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division. He was the first ''sekitori'' produced by his stable since its founding in 2002. He started off his ''jūryō'' debut with a winning 8–7, he followed this up with another winning record although he had to withdraw the last four days with he injury. The next tournament he was unable to achieve a winning record managing only a 6–9 record. He rebounded to with a 8–7 winning record the following tournament but suffered only his third losing record with a 7–8 finish. He rebounded yet again to get a 9–6 finish. He reached ''jūryō'' 4 in January 2020. In July 2020 at the rank of ''jūryō'' 14 he produced a 10–5 record, losing a playoff for the ''

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Yūs ...

'' or championship to

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. He won his first ''jūryō'' championship in July 2021 with a 12-3 record, and reached ''jūryō 1'' in the following September 2021 tournament, narrowly missing out on promotion to the top ''makuuchi'' division. He was forced to sit out the January 2022 tournament after a member of Nishikido stable tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In September 2022 Mitoryū reached the top division for the first time at ''

'' 16. In August 2023, Mitoryū was the heaviest active ''sekitori'' wrestler at . Later in the year, at the November tournament, Mitoryū was involved in a match with Shimanoumi marked by a rare '' mizu-iri'' (water break), the first in the ''

'' division in 24 years. At the March 2024 tournament, Mitoryū won his second ''jūryō'' tournament with a 12–3 record, almost certainly earning him repromotion to sumo's top division. During his return to sumo's top division, he lost his match against one of the tournament leaders ( Takarafuji) and had to limp off the

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after Takarafuji fell on his ankle. After the match, however, he insisted that he was not injured. Mitoryū withdrew on Day 11 of the May 2024 tournament. It was reported that a few days earlier, he appeared to be favoring his left leg after inadvertently collapsing in his match against Takarafuji. His medical certificate with the Sumo Association stated that the withdrawal was due to

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of articular cartilage, joint cartilage and underlying bone. A form of arthritis, it is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the world, affect ...

in both of his knees. With only two wins, he was demoted again to .

Fighting style

Mitoryū is a ''yotsu-sumo'' wrestler, preferring grappling techniques to pushing and thrusting. His most common winning ''

kimarite is the technique used in sumo by a (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the (referee) at the end of the match, though judge (sumo), judges can modify this decision. The records of are then kept for statistical ...

'' is a straightforward ''yori kiri'', or force out, and he uses a ''migi-yotsu'' grip on the ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked profess ...

'' or belt, with his right hand inside and left hand outside his opponent's arms.

Career record

References

External links