SYDNEY — Last year, Samantha-Jane Stacey was an average Australian teenage girl juggling a hectic social calendar with one unusual hobby — sumo wrestling.

However, being blessed with a natural aptitude for the ancient sport meant the 15-year-old was never destined to be your typical teenager.

In what has been a whirlwind couple of months, Stacey now finds herself living and training with the elite sumo club at Tottori Johoku High School in Tottori Prefecture, after being offered a three-year scholarship earlier this year.