In a shade over 250 years of recorded sumo history, no European has ever been crowned king of the ring. No European has ever held aloft the Emperor's Cup. No European has ever won a Grand Sumo Tournament.
Until now. At the latest basho, Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu upped his game tenfold and refrained from his recent tendency to backpedal and pull down instead of moving forward. Most importantly, he made the decision to meet the opposition head on and push them back or throw them to the clay — day after day.
On 14 of 15 occasions at the Natsu Basho, he did so successfully, at times with such ease it seemed comical for those aware of just how lethargically he has been performing since his record-breaking rise to the rank of ozeki only three years after entering the sport.