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Sumo News
Former Ozeki Takanonami Dead at 43
Former
Ozeki Former Ozeki Takanonami died suddenly on June 20th at the age of
43. Otowayama-oyakata reportedly collapsed at an Osaka hotel around 10
AM where he was found unresponsive. Attempts to revive him were
unsuccessful, and the cause of death was reported as heart failure.
Takanonami, who was a fan favorite on the sumo broadcasts, had health
scares in the past that caused him to take a break from his oyakata
duties during a tournament, but his untimely death sent shockwaves
throughout the Association. Takanonami is best known as the Ozeki stable
mate of Takanohana and Wakanohana during the boom years for sumo in the
mid-nineties. Promoted to Ozeki alongside Musashimaru in early 1994,
Takanonami captured two career yusho and constantly ran interference for
his stable mates among the elite ranks playing a key role in
establishing the Futagoyama-beya as the strongest sumo stable of the
90's.
Takanonami was well-known for an unorthodox move where he was use one
hand on his opponent's shoulder and then his other hand on the outer
belt using his height advantage to swing his opponents over and down.
He was also a master at using his legs to trip up his opponents, and
both of his yusho came after playoff wins against stable mate Takanohana
where he tripped him to the clay in both bouts. Takanonami retired
from sumo in 2004 and quickly became a regular guest host on the NHK
broadcasts.
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