Mourning for sumo legend Akebono. The first foreign-born yokozuna died at the age of 54
Japan is mourning the loss of an icon of sumo wrestling: Akebono, the first foreign-born sumo grandmaster (yokozuna), died of heart failure at the age of 54 at the beginning of April. The news was announced on Thursday.
Born Chad Rowan in Hawaii in 1969, Akebono rose to become one of the most successful sumo wrestlers in the 1990s.
Great honor for Akebono in Japan
In 1993, the athlete, who was over two meters tall and weighed around 230 kilograms, became the 64th yokozuna in history, and three years later Akebono was granted Japanese citizenship. Akebono ended his active career in 2001