Big surprise in sumo. The sport has a new champion — and he’s Japanese

TOKYO (AP) - Japan has a new sumo grand champion - or yokozuna - and the big news is he’s Japanese.

Onosato, the new grand champion, weighs 191 kilograms (421 pounds) and he is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017. By comparison, the average weight of an NFL lineman is about 140 kilos, or just over 300 pounds.

The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians and prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia.

Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, is only 24 and was promoted Wednesday to sumo’s top rank by the Japan Sumo Association. Onosato was promoted by winning last week’s Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which came after he won another prestigious tournament in March.

Sumo is regarded as Japan’s national sport, or most sacred sport and many of the ritual elements are connected to Shinto, Japan’s indigineous religion.

Sumo’s origins date back more than 1,000 years and Japan is the only country where it is competed on a professional level.

The sport is highly regimented with many wrestlers living in communal training facilities where food and dress and are controled by ancient traditions.

Onosato’s promotion will set up an instant rivaly with Mongolia-born Hoshoryu. The Japanese news agency Kyodo said they are due to meet in a tournament in July in the central city of Nagoya.