| Axe-Lander/yamamotoyama | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 252 kg (556 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Onoe |
| Current rank | Maegashira-15 |
| Record | 66-27-0 |
| Debut | January, 2007 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira-15 (January 2009) |
| Championships | 1 (Makushita) 1 (Jonidan) |
| * Up to date as of Dec 2008. | |
Yamamotoyama Ryūta (山本山 龍太, Yamamotoyama Ryūta, born May 8, 1984 as Ryūichi Yamamoto (山本 龍一 Yamamoto Ryūichi)) is a sumo wrestler from Saitama, Saitama. He currently holds the record for being the heaviest Japan-born wrestler ever to be promoted to the makuuchi, professional sumo's top division, weighing in at just under 252kg. He specializes in using this extra weight to force his opponents out of the ring. The highest rank he has reached is maegashira-15[1].
Career edit
He was born in Hirosaki, Nakatsugaru District. After a successful start in amateur sumo at Aomori University, Tsushima worked as a member of staff at Aomori Yamada High School after graduating, not joining the professional sport until the age of 24 in July 2000.
Iwakiyama had makushita tsukedashi (promising amateur) status and so began in makushita (the third division), but an injury in his second tournament saw him demoted to sandanme. He recovered by winning the sandanme championship in March 2001 and by March 2002 was promoted to jūryō. He reached the top makuuchi division in November 2002. A long-standing lower back problem forced him to withdraw from the March 2003 tournament but in September of that year he produced an 11-4 record, his best score in the top division to date, which earned him promotion to the titled sanyaku ranks for the first time.
Iwakiyama has twice been ranked as komusubi on the banzuke and has one yokozuna upset and two special prizes to his credit but because of poor results he was demoted to jūryō for the 2007 Nagoya basho. However he won the jūryō yusho for this tournament so he fought again in the highest division in September 2007. He could only manage a 4-11 record and slipped to the Jūryō 1 ranking for November, but he produced a strong 11-4 record to earn immediate promotion back to the top division. On this occasion he produced a comfortable 9-6 score. After struggling to a 2-7 start in March 2008, he won five out of his last six matches to preserve his top division status once again. He withdrew from the third day of the September 2008 tournament after suffering an ankle injury.
Top division record edit
| Year | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | West Maegashira #15 – |
x | x | x | x | x |
| Record given as wins–losses–absencies Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) |
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References edit
- ^ "(Makuuchi) January Banzuke". goo Sumo. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Rikishi in Juryo and Makunouchi". szumo.hu. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
See also edit
External links edit
- Japanese Sumo Association Biography (English)(Japanese)
- complete biography and basho results (Japanese)