December 2005

GRAND SLAM!!!

"Legendary" Yokozuna

   
GRAND SLAM!!!
Shoryu Shatters Records With Seventh Straight Cup:  Kotooshu Becomes First “Eurozeki”
by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

The sumotori who were ranked in the Makunouchi on the Aki 2005 banzuke had the privilege of enjoying a unique experience:  a three-day koen in what is widely considered to be the most dynamic, most exciting city in the world.  (See elsewhere in this newsletter for more on this event – Ed.)  But what happened in Las Vegas in early October did indeed stay there once the members of the Nihon Sumo Kyokai trooped home to their stables:  it was back to the traditional routine of “train hard, eat plenty, train even harder, and eat even more”.  With a month of this under their mawashis, everyone boarded the southbound trains for the annual festivities on Kyushu.

From the standpoint of sumo history, the stakes were extremely high for yokozuna-East ASASHORYU.  In 2004, he had stalked into the Fukuoka Kokusai Center following a 9-6 humiliation in Tokyo.  No one (except maybe Takasago Oyakata) knows exactly what happened to him after that drubbing – but whatever it was, it had worked very well:  SHORYU won the next six consecutive Tenno-Hai, becoming only the second rikishi in the six-basho era (1958-present) to accomplish that feat.  One year later the mighty Mongol strolled imperiously into the FKC with the chance to climb to an altitude no one else had ever been able to reach, and win all six yusho in a single calendar year.  It quickly became apparent that he could breathe the extremely-rarified air without the slightest hint of choking or gasping.  After day 12 he was the only top-division competitor at zensho, with everyone else at least two losses back.  The following day sekiwake-East KOTOOSHU crushed out the “Blue Dragon of the Morning”, for what would turn out to be his only kuroboshi of the tournament.  SHORYU’s win over ozeki #2-West KAIO on day 14 clinched his seventh straight Tenno-Hai – and carved a special niche in post-1958 sumo history with its first true “Grand Slam”.  It was also his 83rd torikumi win for 2005, breaking Kitanoumi (55)’s record from 1978.  A hard-fought senshuraku victory over ozeki #1-West CHIYOTAIKAI put the exclamation point on a 14-1 finish, for a new annual aggregate record of 84‑6 and the 15th championship of his career.  This moves SHORYU into sole possession of fifth place on the “Legendary” list.  (A list of the five best annual aggregate records can be found elsewhere in this newsletter – Ed.)

KOTOOSHU’s 11-4 output under the FKC’s roof gave him a record of 36-9 over the past three basho.  That, coupled with his second Shukun-Sho (Outstanding Performance Prize) and third Kanto-Sho (Fighting Spirit Prize), means he will be ranked at ozeki on the Hatsu 2006 banzuke.  The very handsome “Sofia Skyscraper” (civilian name:  Mahlyanov Kaloyan Stefanov) becomes the first European rikishi to ascend to sumo’s second-highest rank.  It was the first anointment of a new ozeki since ASASHORYU was elevated for the 2002 Aki Basho, and the first for a non-Asian since Musashimaru (67) was promoted for Haru 1994.  This promotion should inject a very real challenge to SHORYU’s dominance (two of the Mongolian’s six 2005 losses were to the Bulgarian) into an upper sanyaku that (in this writer’s opinion) seems to have become satisfied with being pale pretenders instead of real contenders.  A day 2 abisetaoshi loss to komusubi-East KYOKUTENHO (Mongolia) downgraded TAIKAI to a pursuer’s role behind the “Mongolian Express”.  The “Round Mound of Body Pound” lost further ground on day 6 when maegashira #4-East MIYABIYAMA slapped him down:  Kokonoe’s top deshi finished at 11-4.  The only rikishi besides SHORYU to hold the Cup within the past two years, KAIO was kadoban coming down to Fukuoka – and he had a history of not doing particularly well before the hometown fans.  But a day 11 uwatenage victory over maegashira #5-East KISENOSATO gave the “Human Juicer” the eighth win that keeps an ozeki’s paycheck flowing to his bank account for at least two more tournaments.  KAIO’s 10-5 mark gave him 631 top-division wins, to move past former sekiwake Terao into ninth place in the “600-Win Club”.  The vulnerability ‘buck’ is now in the hands of #1-East TOCHIAZUMA, who withdrew on day 4.

The “Bulgarian Blastwave’s” performance was the strongest among the lower sanyaku.  The other three men in this region of the rankings also posted kachi efforts, but not without serious struggle.  Sekiwake-West KOTOMITSUKI won seven of his first eight, but then collapsed with four losses in a row:  it took a win on day 13 for the Aki 2001 yusho winner to post an 8-7.  TENHO fought a .500 battle for 14 days to stand ‘on the bubble’ on senshuraku.  A slapdown win over MITSUKI gave him an 8-7 as well.  Komusubi-West HAKUHO (Mongolia) recovered from two opening losses to roll out eight wins in his next nine torikumi.  “Sleeping Thunder” then slumped a bit, but won out on senshuraku for a 9-6 record.

TOCHINOHANA rolled out an 11-4 effort at maegashira #14-East to win a share of the Kanto-Sho and take top honors among the hiramaku ranks.  Other strong maegashira performances:

#4-East MIYABIYAMA (10-5) (Kanto-Sho)

#6-West KOKKAI (Georgia Republic) (9-6)

#7-West TOKITENKU (Mongolia) (9-6) (Gino-Sho (Technique Prize))

#8-East ROHO (Russia) (10-5)

#9-West TAKEKAZE (9-6)

#12-West ASASEKIRYU (Mongolia) (9-6)

#13-East HAKUROZAN (Russia) (10-5)

#15-East KASUGANISHIKI (9-6)

#17-East JUMONJI (9-6)

No kinboshi were awarded (no surprise here).

In Juryo, #13-East TOKI pulled his sekitori career out of freefall with a 12-3 mark.  It probably won’t take him and his prominent “Elvis sideburns” all the way up to the ‘bright lights’, but it will give him a chance at that in the upcoming January wars.  More worthy second-division efforts:

#1-East TOCHISAKAE (9-6)

#1-West TOYOZAKURA (10-5)

#3-West TOKITSUUMI (9-6)

#5-West YOSHIKAZE (10-5)

#7-East USHIOMARU (9-6)

#7-West DAIRAIDO (10-5)

#8-West DAIMANAZURU (9-6)

#10-West ASOFUJI (10-5)

#11-East OTSUKASA (10-5)

After fifteen years and 90 basho in the Makunouchi Division, and facing relegation to the Juryo after his eighth loss on day 13, maegashira #11-West KOTONOWAKA announced his retirement.  The former sekiwake entered sumo at the 1984 Natsu Basho, made the Juryo in July 1990, and was shin-nyumaku in November 1990.  (Takanohana (65) made his Makunouchi debut in the same tournament.)  KOTONOWAKA leaves active competition with an overall career record of 785-764-100 and a Makunouchi record of 608-657-84.  He never won the Emperor’s Cup, but won the Sandanme Division championship twice.  He has two Shukun-Sho and five Kanto-Sho, and was among the kinboshi leaders with eight wins over yokozuna while ranked as a maegashira (downing both Takanohana and Akebono (64) at the 1996 Nagoya tournament).  He is figured to become the next Sadogatake Oyakata when his father-in-law, the current toshiyori holder & stablemaster, retires.

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“Legendary” Yokozuna (10+ Yusho)

(updated after Kyushu 2005)

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The 600-Win Club

(updated after Kyushu 2005)

* Non-Japanese

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List Of Officially-Chartered USSF Sumo Clubs

(as of December, 2005)

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SHUUBUN 2005  (“Dohyo of Dreams”, Garden Grove, CA) - OFFICIAL RESULTS

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Top 5 Annual Aggregate Records

(after Kyushu 2005)

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JUNIOR DIVISION YUSHO WINNERS

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SHUUBUN 2005
Report by "Yukikaze" for SUMO SHIMPO

For the past couple of years, the SHUUBUN (Fall Equinox) Tournament has marked the end of the outdoor sumo season in Southern California.  This year, it was also a fitting way to bid an end to Daylight Savings Time (and recover the hour of sleep lost earlier in the year).

The afternoon of October 29 turned out to be pleasantly balmy, both for those who came to compete and those who came to watch.  Among the latter was current US middleweight champion Troy Collins (CSA), who had aggravated a previous injury earlier in the month at the Worlds in Japan.  He functioned as line judge while “Tonkatsu” put on the whites and officiated.  To everyone’s surprise and disappointment, US lightweight champ Trent Sabo and the other members of the Oceanside Sumo Kyokai did not show.

To lead off the afternoon’s action, the two youngest Christiansen brothers squared off in a best-two-of-three matchup in which Kenneth prevailed over Tommy.  Bradley Christiansen went into a “Small Co-ed” matchup and won two matches against Judy Morrow.  He then entered a replay of the “Ten Year Old Kids” competition at the California Open earlier in the year – with the same result:  Stephen Simpson won two matches and the division.

Now that he has turned forty, Kurt “Tachikaze” Rightmyer (SCSK) has become a near-unstoppable force as he took the gold in the “old boys” round-robin.  Art Morrow (SCSK) got the silver and Jim Lowerre (SCSK) the bronze.  Morrow was the only man who made the lightweight limit, while Rightmyer and Doug Cochran (GSS) were the only ones who came in as official middleweights.  It was decided to combine the two divisions into a single round-robin competition.  Cochran prevailed for his first-ever middleweight gold medal.  Rightmyer claimed the silver and Morrow took bronze.

New California middleweight champion Dan Kalbfleisch (CSA) had come for the festivities.  But the scale told a sad tale:  everyone’s favorite Sparkletts delivery driver was carrying a bit too much heft around the middle to compete as a middle.  Dan had absolutely no trepidation about jumping in as a heavyweight, even though Steve Jimenez (SCSK) had added a year – and even more mass – since the Californias:  he admitted to a ponderous 403 pounds and the scale could only say “ouch!”.  Lowerre took a deep breath and jumped into the pool to make it a three-man round-robin.  When the smoke cleared, Kalbfleisch had taken everything Jimenez could throw at him and still moved him over the tawara to cop the gold.  Lowerre quietly slipped into the last podium spot.

Cochran, Jimenez, Kalbfleisch, and Rightmyer stepped up for the Open competition.  To give everyone all the action they could handle, a four-man round-robin was run.  The results, in turn, were used to seed a four-man bracket.  The bracket results went as follows:  Kalbfleisch d. Rightmyer; Cochran d. Jimenez; Jimenez d. Rightmyer for the bronze medal; Kalbfleisch d. Cochran for the gold medal.

Photos from SHUUBUN 2005, “Dohyo of Dreams”, Garden Grove (by “Yukikaze”)

>>  MIDDLEWEIGHT MIGHT… Doug Cochran and Kurt Rightmyer give a very spirited battle in the Light/Middleweight competition as referee Harry “Tonkatsu” Dudrow monitors the action.

<<  POWER BY SPARKLETTS… Pushed by the scale into Heavyweight division action, Dan Kalbfleisch downs mammoth Steve Jimenez on his way to the division championship.

>>  FIGHTIN’ ON THE EDGE… Doug Cochran and Dan Kalbfleisch take their battle for the Openweight gold right onto the tawara as Troy Collins and Mike Simpson watch carefully.  Kalbfleisch prevailed for his second gold medal of the day.

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IF YOU REALLY LOVE SUMO AND WANT TO STAY CLOSE TO IT FOR MANY YEARS TO COME…

MAKE THE COMMITMENT!!

Become a United States Sumo Federation LIFE MEMBER

A one-time tax-deductible donation of $200.00 eliminates your worries about annual USSF dues FOR LIFE.  If you compete in USSF-sanctioned amateur sumo events for ten years or more, a Life Membership will pay for itself.  It also shows you are very serious about the sport, and is a definite ‘resume enhancer’ if you decide to seek office in the USSF or any other amateur sports body.

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Grand Sumo 2005:  Banzai Las Vegas!!
Report by “Yukikaze” for SUMO SHIMPO

Sony DSC-H1 digital camera, extra 128MB Memory Stick, camera bag and extended warranty (Fry’s) - $600.00 (approx.)
Fuel for 720 miles of Honda CR-V (“Long Lance”) operations - $120.00 (approx.)
4 nights (2 weekend) at the Motel 6 on Tropicana Boulevard - $250.00 (approx.)
Food for two determined sumo fans (including a Trader Joe’s run) - $240.00 (approx.)
2 tickets for a Thursday night performance of Cirque du Soleil’s “O” at the Bellagio - $250.00
Dohyo-level seating for all three days of the Grand Sumo exhibition - $1,400.00 (approx.)

An up-close encounter with your favorite sumotori (complete with a smile) – absoposilutively PRICELESS!

In 1998, Lorinda (the officially-designated “Sumo Phreek”) and I had happily tripped off to the “Great White North” for the 2-day Sumo Canada koen.  We enjoyed some really great sumo – considering that, due to our financial situation at the time, we had to be content with sitting in a ‘nosebleed’ section of Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum.

The lessons learned in the previous millennium were applied to our decision to attend the 2005 Grand Sumo Exhibition at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.  First, we would get the ‘best available’ seats for all three days regardless of the cost.  Second, the Motel 6 near the Mandalay Bay would serve as our temporary base of operations.  Third, we would transit to LV on Thursday in our trusty CR-V, and come home on Monday to avoid the worst of the traffic.

So we went to work neatly arranging mallards into the matrix.  Early on the morning of the 6th we hit a Starbucks for coffee (for this writer) and a Chantico (for the Phreek), then hit the road hard and fast to get out of the metro area before the traffic could congeal.  We fueled ourselves and the CR-V in Hesperia, lunched at the Bun Boy in Baker, and were rolling into the “City With No Clocks” by midafternoon.  Since we were staying all the way through the weekend into Monday, the very nice desk person at the Motel 6 gave us a choice of rooms.  We took one on the first floor with close parking access (to accommodate a knee still hurting from the California Open) that faced onto the pool (where said knee could be exercised).

On the first night of the Exhibition, the Events Centre doors opened at 7:15PM.  The central concourse just outside the actual arena had tables selling commemorative souvenirs and TV Japan.  The California Sumo Association also had a table there.  I was surprised to see United States middleweight champion Troy Collins in ‘civvies’ here, what with the Amateur Worlds taking place the following weekend.  But Troy (both on and off the dohyo) is confident about himself without slipping into cockiness:  he said he was ready, and that was that.  Middleweight amateur competitors Doug Cochran, Matt Anderson and Dan Kalbfleisch were in shorts and mawashis, working the crowd and passing out flyers for the 2006 US Sumo Open as the traffic oozed into the arena for the 8:00PM start.

To get the crowd warmed up, three young junior sumotori sprinted down the hanamichi and onto the dohyo to demonstrate some basic sumo exercises (the matawari always amazes those not ‘in the know’).  This was followed by a very spirited (not to mention very loud) performance by a taiko group from San Francisco.  The English-language announcing chores were handled by Andrew Freund and the still-massive KONISHIKI (who apparently still has a tremendous fan following).

In Vancouver, three yokozuna had been on the banzuke:  Akebono (64), Takanohana (65) and Wakanohana III (66).  Also present at that time was ozeki Musashimaru (67), who would earn his tsuna and gohei the following year.  Here there was ASASHORYU (68), who has done a pretty good job thus far of ensuring that he is the only man on the pinnacle of the professional sumo world.  Ozeki CHIYOTAIKAI and TOCHIAZUMA were present, but KAIO was not.  WAKANOSATO, KYOKUSHUZAN and KAIHO had also skipped the trip.

In each of the three days, the tournament format was a simple elimination bracket:  win and stay in, lose one and done (for that day).  Since there were approximately forty competitors, the first round was a “play-in” among the inhabitants of the lower hiramaku ranks.  In the second round, the joi-jin came out to fight.  Since he held the #1 seed, SHORYU would lead off the round against one of the hiramaku qualifiers – with the expected result.  (Note:  at a koen, the usual requirement that one of the two tate-gyoji must officiate a yokozuna’s torikumi is suspended.)  Starting in the quarter-finals, yobidashi would parade the tawara carrying banners announcing that kensho-kin had been put up for the winner of the match:  Mr. Freund had to repeat the company names and a brief spiel each time this happened.  (In 1998, the only time kensho banners appeared was just before each day’s final match.)

It worked out very nicely (hmmmmm…) that TOCHIAZUMA won on Friday night, CHIYOTAIKAI won on Saturday night, and SHORYU won on Sunday afternoon.  This, of course, set up a 3-way playoff for the grand prize:  first one to win two consecutive torikumi would be the overall winner.  And it was here, with Kimura Shonosuke officiating, that the mighty Mongolian bested the two ozeki in succession.

(Those who have a sense of irony might appreciate this:  later in October the nearby Orleans Resort hosted the Mr. Olympia, which is the premier event in the world of competitive bodybuilding.  This writer poses the following question:  which one do you believe to be the better overall athlete – the professional bodybuilder, or the professional sumotori?)

This writer thoroughly enjoyed the 2005 Grand Sumo Exhibition.  It’s too bad that Vegas won’t be putting on a celebration like that for another hundred years:  sumo will (most likely) still be around, but my physical presence will be very problematic.  (Maybe the Nihon Sumo Kyokai could be persuaded to come back ten years from now…)

>>  California middleweight competitors Dan Kalbfleisch and Doug Cochran work the madding crowds heading into the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

>>  At the start of each day, the audience got a heavy-duty wakeup call from this San Francisco taiko group, which was the first of its kind created outside Japan.

>>  The West side of the tournament bracket assembles for their dohyo-iri ceremony.

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He Looked At Me
Special by the “Sumo Phreek” for SUMO SHIMPO

On Friday, October 7, 2005, the first day of the Las Vegas koen, the first rikishi were coming down the hanamichi “path of flowers” after the opening ceremony.  Security stopped me on the second step of the bleachers behind another lady.

A couple of wrestlers passed, then there He was - my babe - Kotonowaka!  Passing a scant ten feet away.

“Kotonowaka, banzai!” I yelled.

He looked me right in the eye and smiled.  I flashed him a “thumbs up.”  He ducked his head slightly as he passed.
I was
Thrilled.

He Looked At Me
(the poem)

He looked at me.
I had said his name and “Banzai”
As he came down the hanamichi.
Kotonowaka smiled.
I was
Thrilled.

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Grand Sumo 2005:  Another Perspective
by "Tonkatsu" for SUMO SHIMPO

We didn't go to Grand Sumo Las Vegas.  We had originally planned on it till we saw the prices.  Sitting in the cheapest seats wasn't an option, because Ning wouldn't have been able to see.  I didn't say anything about it in print at the time, but you can get seats for an official basho in Japan for a lot less than what they were charging.

It turned out to be a good thing that we didn't rush out and buy tickets as soon as they were available, because a few weeks later, we received an invitation to Ning's nephew’s wedding in Bellingham, Washington the same weekend.  So, while “Yukikaze” and "Sumo Phreak" were in Vegas, we were winging our way to the Great Northwest.  Every time there is an overseas koen, NHK does an hour show on it, and we could wait for that.

Last year there were two koens, one in Korea and one in China.  In addition to matches, they showed the sumotori taking in the sights and sampling the local cuisine.  The first thing that struck me when I saw the matches was a marked difference in the intensity level.  This wasn't surprising.  Of course they aren't as intense when nothing is at stake.

In the case of Grand Sumo Las Vegas, there was nothing but matches and comments from spectators.  Although the commentary on the tape was in Japanese, you could hear Konishiki bellowing in the background.  I wouldn't have wanted to have listened to that for three days.

It seemed to me that the intensity level was even lower than the two previous koens I had seen.  So much so that someone I showed the tape to asked me "if I thought they were pretending."  It seemed to him as if they were talking to each other and deciding the outcomes.  He even called it "WWE sumo."  I wouldn't go that far, but I'm not sorry I missed it.  I'll wait until I can afford to go to Japan and see a real basho.

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2005 Snake River Sumo Classic:  Big Men Fall In Idaho Falls
Report by Guy White

On November 12th, the Snake River Sumo Association held its 3rd annual Snake River Sumo Classic.  The tournament, which was held at Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, doubled as a fund-raising event for Austin Burke, a local student with cancer.  Many locals came out to witness firsthand the awesome sport of Sumo.  Unfortunately, Napoleon Dynamite was not in the audience.

The tournament started off with the lightweights, which ironically had the largest number of competitors.  US champion Trent Sabo drove in from California with brother Chris Sabo and Trever Van Eede.  Idaho champ Tyler Olsen convinced brother-in-law Kail Yeaton to compete.  The two locals were joined by Idaho Falls high school student Levi Kendrick.  The seventh lightweight was Ford Lyon, who flew in from New York.  Using a round-robin format, the lightweight matches went by quickly, until the tournament officials requested that each rikishi fight each other twice.  This second round-robin was meant to entertain the audience, but after forty-two matches, they were as exhausted as the competitors.  When the smoke cleared, the top four were called to the semi-finals in order:  Tyler Olsen, Trent Sabo, Chris Sabo, and Trever Van Eede.  Olsen quickly beat Van Eede to advance to the finals. The Sabo match was more exciting:  Chris had beaten Trent twice during the round-robin.  The brothers were quick to counter each other’s moves, but Trent regained his composure to push Chris out of the dohyo.  Chris went on to beat Van Eede for the bronze.  Olsen dominated the tournament until this final match, where Sabo pushed him out of the ring to take yet another title.

The most evenly-matched competitors in the tournament had to be the three middleweights; which included Idaho champion Rye McAffee, California Open champ Dan Kalbfleisch, and James Brewster Thompson (who had been the US heavyweight representative at the 2005 World Games).  The middleweight round-robin matches didn’t last nearly as long as the lightweights did, but they were just as exciting.  After fighting each man twice, all three came out with the same record:  two wins, two loses.  This forced a three-way tiebreaker.  The first match was Thompson versus Kalbfleisch.  Remembering that these competitors were evenly matched, one should have foreseen that this tiebreaker would end when both men landed simultaneously.  The rematch had both men breathing heavy, but Thompson came out the winner.  Kalbfleisch quickly returned to the dohyo to face McAffee again.  With no surprise to the audience, this bout also ended with a rematch request by the judges.  McAffee pushed Kalbfleisch out of the ring to advance to the finals.  The championship match saw Thompson and McAffee stand in the center of the dohyo in a stalemate.  Thompson attempted a throw, but slipped, causing McAffee to land on top and retain his title.

The audience was given a break from the men in order to witness women doing sumo.  Unfortunately there were only two competitors; Idaho champion Heather Olsen, and Michelle Pike from California.  Both women are lightweights.  To determine the better of the two, Olsen and Pike fought for the best three-out-of-five matches.  Local favorite Olsen beat Pike with three wins and only one loss to take the women’s championship.

The big men of the heavyweight division now stepped to the fore.  The four competitors were current US champion Kelly Gneiting, Grand Sumo Open champion Justin Crite, his twin brother Jon (a former California state heavyweight champion) and local resident Jim Garcia.  The crowd loved the big guys, and cheered loudly during every match.  The crowd went especially wild watching twin brothers battle it out to see which one had the best genetics (just kidding).  Luckily, Justin and Jon were sporting different-colored shorts and different hairstyles, so the crowd could tell them apart.  When the double round-robin was over, Gneiting was the clear winner, followed by Justin Crite, Jon Crite and Garcia.  Gneiting quickly beat Garcia to advance to the finals.  The second semi-final match of the day between brothers saw Justin dominate Jon, but Jon came back to defeat Garcia for the bronze.  Fueled by his local crowd, Gneiting smashed Justin Crite off the dohyo to become the only rikishi to go undefeated in this tournament.

With time running out and the crowd dwindling, the openweight champion would be decided by single elimination.  The ten competitors were the Sabo brothers, the Crite brothers, Olsen, Van Eede, Lyon, Kendrick, Kalbfleisch, and Idaho favorite Casey Burns, the 2003 North American heavyweight champ.  Trent Sabo beat Lyon, then finessed Jon Crite to move into the semi-finals.  Olsen defeated Van Eede to advance.  Kalbfleisch plowed through Chris Sabo and Justin Crite to earn his spot.  Burns tortured Kendrick (who happens to be his step-son) to take the last semi-final spot.  In a repeat of the lightweight finals, Sabo defeated Olsen to move into the openweight final.  Kalbfleisch drove Burns to the edge of the ring, but the 500 pounder got hold of the Californian’s mawashi and showed him what an Idaho “potato pancake” feels like.  Kalbfleisch bounced back and defeated Olsen for third place.  The final match was the quickest match of the day.  175-pound Trent Sabo used his strength, lightning speed and fighting spirit to drive heavyweight Burns out of the ring before he knew that the match had even started.  But was the Idaho audience impressed?  The sports headline in the next day’s Post Register (the local paper in Idaho Falls – Ed.) said it all; “Little Guy Wins Sumo Classic”.


DON’T ALWAYS BET ON THE BIGGER MAN… Former North 
American heavyweight champ Casey Burns is beaten off the line 
by US lightweight champ Trent Sabo at the Snake River Sumo 
Classic.  Sabo bested Burns to win the openweight gold medal.  (Photo:  unknown)

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2005 SNAKE RIVER SUMO CLASSIC  (Idaho Falls, ID) - OFFICIAL RESULTS

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Comparison of the Members of the 15-Yusho Club (as of Kyushu 2005)

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2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Sakai City, Japan) - OFFICIAL RESULTS

 
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After a strong showing by the US team at the World Games in July (as reported in the Nagoya issue), we sent them off to the World Championships in Osaka with high hopes that someone (perhaps even several someone’s) would come home with a medal.  Alas, such was not to be the case.

After trying a different format in Germany last year, the International Sumo Federation returned to single elimination with modified repechage (those who were defeated by a division finalist are seeded in a bracket for a chance at one of the bronze medals).  In the women’s competition, the US was represented in only two of the four weight divisions, lightweight and heavyweight.  We did not field a women’s team for the team competition.  In the first round of the lightweights, twelve-year old Helen Delpopolo lost to eventual bronze medalist Claudia De Graauw of the Netherlands by yoritaoshi.  Helen got into the repechage where she drew Ms. De Graauw again, this time losing by tsuridashi.  Heavyweight champion Catherine Hurley, who had beaten former World open champion Rei Sugi of Japan at the World Games, was injured in a first-round loss to Olesya Kovalenko of Russia (also a bronze medalist) and had to withdraw.  That was the end of the Worlds for the US women.

In the men’s lightweight division, Trent Sabo admits to having been upset by the fact that he drew Igor Kurinnoy of Russia, one of the top lightweights, in the first round.  He dealt with that by beating Mr. Kurinnoy by sukuinage, but it was all downhill from there.  In the next round he lost to Jakkrapong Chorarungmetee of Thailand (the eventual silver medalist) by hikiotoshi.  This got him into the repechage, where he lost to Davaa Batsaikhan of Mongolia by oshidashi.  In the middleweights, Troy Collins started off well, winning his first match over Rungraj Pongpaphachen of Thailand with his favorite kimarite, hatakikomi.  In round two, Troy lost to Todor Dzhurov of Bulgaria by yorotaoshi:  when Mr. Dzhurov subsequently lost, Troy’s quest for an individual medal was done.  The story was much the same for heavyweight Kelly Gneiting.  Kelly beat Erno Lazlo of Austria by yoritaoshi in the first round, only to fall to Alan Karaev of Russia (an eventual bronze medalist) by hikiotoshi.

While the name implies wrestlers of any weight, in actual practice the “Openweight Division” at the Worlds typically features the biggest competitors.  One exception to this has been the United States team, where for the last four years middleweights Kena Heffernan of Hawaii and Rene Marte of New Jersey have alternated as North American or United States openweight champions.  This year, the Jersey police officer went into the barrel.  In the first round, Rene (who is reported to have ballooned to around 260 pounds) lost to eventual silver medalist Keisyo Shimoda off Japan by oshitaoshi.  Seeded in the repechage, Rene beat Stephan Pateman of Great Britain by uwatenage:  one more win and Rene would have a bronze medal.  But it wasn’t to be:  Rene lost to Batzorig Chogsom of Mongolia.  (Our own Hiroshi Matsuzaki, who supplied these stats, didn’t get the kimarite on this match.)

The US team of Carl Pappalardo, Troy Collins and Rene Marte drew a bye in the first round of the team competition.  In the second round they beat the Kyrgyzstan team 3-0:  Carl beat Zamirbek Mamatov by oshidashi, Troy beat Jadanbek Naizov by oshidashi and Rene beat Emil Djamangulov by uwatenage.  In the next round, they lost 3-0 to Norway:  Carl lost to Hans Borg by yorikiri and Troy and Rene lost to Ronny Allman and Hans Jordalan respectively, both by yoritaoshi.

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Current Holders of USSF Dan Rank

Current USSF Life Members

1. Harry Dudrow  2. Yoshisada Yonezuka  3. Jim Lowerre  4. Andrew Freund  5. Troy Collins  6. Hiroshi Matsuzaki  7. Manny Yarbrough (honorary)  8. Trent Sabo  9. Packy Bannevans  10. Doug Cochran

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COMPETITIONS

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